A Map of Shadows
by Lily-Starbuck
Summary: Nothing is as it seems.
1. Chapter 1

*Ahem* I'M BACK BABY! It's been a seriously long time since I've updated or posted anything new - long enough for me to get pregnant, have the baby and to now have a four year old! In truth I completely lost my inspiration and have only just regained it.  
But ya'll don't want to hear about that! I've been working on this for months and I wasn't actually going to start posting it until it was complete, but typing up the first two chapters tonight made me realise how much I've missed doing this and got a bit excited so here's the first chapter of my new fic! Hope ya'll like it :-)

A basement  
Somewhere in the suburbs of Las Vegas

The room was dark save for a few sporadically placed candles and an old flickering TV set silently playing the same images on an unending loop. The person sat, head bowed, at the desk. One solitary candle cast its dancing glow across the hundereds of pictures that had been pasted to the wall.  
A hand reached out a single finger, brushing the seven figures in a candid group shot one by one. Male, female. Blonde, brunette, red head. Black and white.  
Soon, they would all pay.

"Now man, no need to get sore just because the waitress preferred me," Nick Stokes laughed, bumping shoulders with his friend and colleague Warrick Brown as they exited their usual diner and headed across the parking lot to their respective vehicles.  
"Please, the girl was all over me, making eyes at me, you're out of luck Stokes."  
"Oh really?" Nick needled, pausing to pull a scrap of paper from his pocket. "If she liked you so much why did she slip me her number when you were in the bathroom?"  
Warrick gaped. "No way! Damn, can't believe I lost out to the cowboy." He gave him a playful shove.  
"What can I say man, chicks dig the Southern charm." He punctuated his statement with a wink. Warrick couldn't help but laugh, shaking his head. They lapsed into companionable silence as they neared their cars.  
In a moment, the silence was broken.

"Hey Nick!"  
The man in question turned, preparing to offer a greeting. He barely got a glimpse of the man when something wet hit his face. His scream of pain was instantaneous as the burning sensation spread through his eyes and nose, inhaling what felt like a ball of fire down into his lungs. He dropped to his knees, coughing and reaching his hands up to his face.  
In the seconds it took Warrick to react, the assailant had sprinted off across the parking lot. He was torn between chasing the guy down and helping Nick. Concern for his friend won out and he crouched beside the injured man, screaming at a passer by to get some water.  
"It's goning to be ok buddy," Warrick kept his voice as calm as he could while he fished his cell phone from his pocket and punched in a number, although he doubted Nick could hear him over his own yells of pain.  
He pulled the phone up to his ear just as the call connected, placing a hand over his partner's prone, writhing body.

"This is CSI Warrick Brown I have a 1013, officer down outside of Vinnie's Diner on Tropicana. Paramedics and police required immediately."  
The bystander returned with a bottle of water and Warrick poured it over Nick's eyes, trying to flush out whatever he'd been sprayed with. He could hear the sirens approaching in the distance.  
What the hell had just happened?

"Mom? Lindsey?" Catherine Willows called out as she entered her home, dropping her purse and keys on the table, kicking off her shoes and unclipping her gun, all in one seamless, graceful motion. Huffing her strawberry blonde bangs out of her eyes she let the door click shut behind her while placing her gun on a high shelf, well out of the reach of wandering three year old fingers. No sooner had she done that did a pyjama clad blur of blonde race towards her.  
"Mommy!" Lindsey launched herself into her mother's waiting arms, wrapping her own tightly round Catherine's neck.  
"Hi baby. Did you sleep well?"  
The little girl nodded.  
"Gramma's in the kitchen," she replied, pre-empting Catherine's next question. "She's making me pancakes for breakfast."  
Catherine chuckled and haded into the kitchen where indeed, Lily was at the stove in her dressing gown making what smelled like chocolate chip pancakes. Hearing their approach the older woman turned with a smile, gesturing to the hot pan.  
"Hungry?"  
"Starving," her daughter admitted, setting Lindsey down on a stool at the breakfast bar and moving to pour herself some juice.  
"I'm not surprised, you CSIs never seem to have time to eat," Lily commented, adding some more batter to the pan. "I swear you've lost more weight. How do you expect to get a man without a little meat on your bones?"

The red head rolled her eyes.  
"Mother," she warned. "Not in the mood."  
Lily shrugged and returned her attention to the food, although Catherine swore she heard her mutter something about 'nice men' and 'try and keep one next time'.  
Catherine sighed and sipped her juice, rolling her neck to ease the tension there. She really needed a massage, but with her work schedule and Lindsey the chances of her booking an appointment and actually keeping it were astronomical.

The sound of her cell phone chirping from her purse by the door made her groan. Byt the time she actually reached her bag however the ringing had stopped. It took all of two seconds for it to start up again.  
"Willows." The voice on the other end of the line made her shoulders sag and her eyes close. "Well that's got to be a new record Gil, I've been home a full ten minutes before..."  
The sharp tone of Gil Grissom stopped her in her tracks, her eyes widening and the colour draining from her face.  
"Oh my God is he ok? No, no I'm on my way now, I'll meet Sara and Greg there."  
She hung up and turned to Lily who was loitering in the doorway.  
"Mom please don't lecture me, I have to go. Nick was attacked."  
Lily gasped. "Is he ok?"  
"All I know is that he's at Desert Palm. Grissom is on his way there now but he wants me to meet Sara and Greg at the crime scene."  
"Do what you have to do Catherine, I'll take care of Lindsey."

After a brief explanation and a kiss for her daughter, Catherine gathered her things and jumped into her car. She reversed out and pulled away, her mind to preoccupied to notice the car parked on the opposite side of the street, the morning sun glinting off the camera lens pointed in the direction of the house.

*****************

Well it wouldn't be me without a cliffhanger right? Lol. Hopefully I'll be able to update semi regularly but I make no promises lol.

Lily  
-x-


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys, here's the next chapter. Meant to add a note to the first one saying I've taken some liberties with Lindsey's age and the timeline. The story is set around season five but as I had a three year old at the time I started this I found it easier to write Lindsey at that age.

Anyway, enjoy!

Sara Sidle screeched her car to a halt just shy of the yellow crime scene tape surrounding the majority of the diner's parking lot and jumped out, pushing her damp her out of her eyes with one hand while grabbing her kit with the other. She'd just been getting out of the shower when she'd received Grissom's call; it had taken her all of twenty minutes to dress and drive across Vegas. As she ducked under the tape she noticed Greg Sanders pulling up beside her car and clambering out, dashing to catch up with her.

"What did Grissom tell you?"

Sara shrugged. "Just that Nick had been attacked, he was on his way to the hospital and to meet you and Catherine here."

"Have you seen her yet? Maybe she knows more."

"Greg you need to take a breath. I doubt Catherine knows any more than us."

The younger man heeded her advice, inhaling deeply and trying to compose himself.

"What the hell is Ecklie doing here?" Greg had spied Catherine, deep in what appeared to be an increasingly heated conversation with the day shift supervisor.

"I don't know, but we need to get over there. Cath looks like she's about to rip his head off."

"Would that really be such a bad thing?" Greg shot back as they picked up their pace towards their colleague.

"Conrad you don't have the authority to take this case away from us so either pull on some gloves and help or get the hell out of my crime scene."

Ecklie sneered, casting a glance at Sara and Greg as they approached.

"I'm sure the Sherrif will have a few choice words on the matter. This is a clear conflict of interests." He turned on his heel, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and missing the hand gesture Sara aimed at his back.

"Nothing like a little ass kissing to start your day," Greg called out, earning a glare from Ecklie as he ducked under the tape.

Catherine sighed and turned to her colleagues, cracking a small smile.

"Right, now that jack ass is gone let's get to work shall we?"

All three donned gloves and took a different area of the scene; Catherine opted to take the area where Nick had fallen, Greg worked the perimeter while Sara headed over to where Detective Lou Vartann was talking to the diner owner in order to get the CCTV footage from the cameras that covered the parking lot.

A few hours later the three exhausted CSIs met up at their cars, each carrying a handful of evidence bags along with their kits.

"You guys find much?" Sara queried as she loaded her bags into the trunk of her Tahoe.

"About a million full and partial shoe impressions. It'll take about a year to go through them all," Greg grumbled, heaving one of two wrapped and labelled trash cans into his vehicle. Off the brunette's look he shrugged. "Figured it would be easier to sort through them back at the lab."

"i've got what I'm hoping is Nick's baseball cap, plus other stuff that might help ID what the hell this guy hit him with. Sar?"

"Vartann and I looked at the CCTV footage; it shows Nick and Warrick leaving the diner and crossing the lot. Someone approaches from the east side, Nick turns and the guy - I'm basing that on the height and build relative to Nick - sprays something in his face. Nick goes down and the guy runs off."

"Hopefully tossing something useful into one of these bad boys as his went." Greg tapped one of the trash cans for emphasis.

"Well the sooner we get this stuff back to the lab the sooner we figure out what Nick was sprayed with, and with any luck it'll lead us to a suspect/ I'll meet you guys there."

Gil Grissom parked his car outside the Las Vegas Crime Lab and killed the engine, scrubbing a weary hand over his face. The sun was beginning to set and he had yet to go home; he'd still been in his office ploughing through paperwork when the call about Nick had come in, had headed straight to Desert Palm to meet Warrick and remained there until a short while ago. He had chosen work over heading home, wanting to check on the rest of his team and see what progress had been made.

Entering the lab he passed Judy who smiled sympathetically before handing him a stack of mail and case files. Tucking them under his arm he made his way to his office, flipping the light on and dumping the pile on his already over flowing desk. He quickly scanned through it all, noting the usual junk mail, letters from colleges - no doubt requesting lectures or seminars - until his eyes fell on a non-descript brown envelope, his name hand written on the front. Curiosity piqued he carefully opened the flap, pulling out the contents.

"Gil you're back. How's Nick?"

Dropping the envelope and what looked like a stack of papers, he diverted his attention to the woman in his doorway.

"He's stable. I left Warrick there, the doctors have flushed and bandaged his eyes and sedated him; he's in quite a bit of pain."

Catherine frowned in concern, stepping further into the office.

"Hodges is working on the swabs you sent over from the hospital. He's hoping to have the results in the next couple of hours. The CCTV footage Sara got was a bust, the guy gets totally lost in the crowds near the Strip."

Grissom sighed and closed his eyes briefly in frustration. Opening them he took in his colleague's appearance, eyebrows raising.

"Nice jumpsuit."

"Thanks, I'm about to go dumpster diving in the name of evidence collection," she quipped, pulling her hair back into a messy bun. "Care to join me?"

Grissom smirked.

"I'll meet you in the garage in ten."

A short while later Grissom was clad in an identical jumpsuit, and he and Catherine were in the garage sorting through trash. As well as the two trash cans Greg had collected, LVPD had also transported a dumpster round the corner from the crime scene back to the lab. Catherine had already searched one of the trash cans while Grissom was changing.

"Nothing useful in there, you take the other one I'm going to tackle the dumpster. Give me a boost?" She grasped the metal edge as Grissom crossed to her, gripped her waist with both hands and, while she pulled up with her arms, lifted her easily. When she was high enough she swung her legs over the edge and landed in the dumpster.

"Thanks," the strawberry blonde grinned and lowered her plastic safety goggles over he blue eyes before disappearing down into the trash.

Grissom moved to the second trash can and began to sift through the garbage. The comfortable silence they'd lapsed into was broken suddenly when Catherine's head popped above the lip of the dumpster.

"Hey Gil, I think I've found something." She hed up a half open rucksack for him to see. "It's got what looks like a can of pepper spray in it. I'll get it to Hodges when we're done here." She placed it in an evidence bag and tucked it inside her jumpsuit pocket.

A sound made Grissom pause, tipping his head to try and locate its source.

"Cath, you have your phone on you?"

Her head appeared again. "No, why?"

Grissom moved back to the trash can, reaching in and moving bits of paper and empty take out containers, noticing that the beeping sound he'd heard had grown slightly louder. He lifted a two day old newspaper out of the way and his eyes widened, scanning over the wires and plastic. They widened even further as they landed on the digital display, the number 00:06 branding itself into his corneas.

He sprinted across the room and launched himself into the dumpster, dragging a confused Catherine down with him. The lid had barely closed when the blast rang out, shattering windows and exerting enough force to tip the dumpster, propelling it backwards across the floor until it collided with the opposite wall.

Anyone who's read some of my other fics know just how much I love a cliff hanger. I promise not every chapter will have one though lol!

Lily

-x-


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks so much for the reviews everyone! Really glad people are liking the story so far. I'm still actively working on it but I do already have another seven chapters written to buy me some time lol! Here's the next part

Sara stomped into the breakroom, filling her mug from the half empty coffee pot before slumping into a chair.  
"You look about as good as I feel." Off the raised eyebrow Greg quickly backtracked. "Not that you look bad... I mean... We're both tired."  
Sara cracked a smile. "Breathe Greg. You're right. Plus I'm frustrated as hell, we've got nothing in the way of leads, next to no evidence and we don't even know how Nick is doing. Why hasn't Warrick or Grissom called any of us?" The brunette huffed out a breath and downed the rest of her lukewarm coffee.  
"I'm sure we'll hear from one of them soon, we're still waiting on results from Hodges and Archie, and I saw Catherine heading to the garage a while ago to tackle the trash. We'll figure this out Sar and we'll do it for Nick."  
Sara smiled as Greg squeezed her shoulder.

Suddenly a loud bang and the sound of breaking glass, chased by screams shattered the quiet of the lab.  
Sara sprang to her feet and dashed to the door of the break room with Greg, eyes darting around the corridor.  
"What the hell was that?!"  
Before Greg could respond Hodges sprinted round the corner, clutching his arm. Sara briefly thought it was the fastest she'd ever seen him move. He skidded to a stop in front of them, panting.  
"Explosion... Garage... Me and another lab tech hurt."  
Both Greg and Sara traded looks before taking off in the direction of the blast, the former grabbing a fire extinguisher as he passed.

"Catherine!"  
They ground to a halt outside the garage, shards of glass crunching under their feet. Smoke was quickly filling the hall, flames licking the doorway like parched tongues. Greg immediately pulled the pin on the extinguisher, aiming it at the fire and firing CO2 to try and get them under control.  
"What the hell happened here?" Captain Jim Brass rounded the corner followed by Detective Vartann and a uniformed officer.  
"Something exploded in the garage. We think Catherine was in there looking for evidence in Nick's attack."  
"Fire's out!" Greg yelled before charging through the door, followed closely byt the others. "Catherine!"

Smoke billowed around the room; small fires burned in sporadic places. Greg made a beeline for them, tackling them one by one. The others moved around the dark room, shielding their faces against the acrid air.  
Sara scanned the area, squinting against the gloom until she could make out a large shape against the side wall.  
"Brass! The dumpster!"  
The five of them sprinted towards the upturned dumpster, its lid pressed against the wall of the garage. Wordlessly they spread themselves around the three sides, grasping whatever they could and planting their feet for leverage.  
"On three!" Brass shouted and they all tensed. "One! Two! Three!" All heaved in unison and the dumpster gave a little, the searing sound of metal against concrete screeching in harmony with the alarms resounding around the building. But it hadn't moved enough to lower the lid.  
"Again!" Greg yelled this time. "One! Two!" No one waited for three, pulling and tugging at the lump of metal, feeling it give inch by inch. One more hard tug and the lid fell open, reverberating against the hard floor. Brass and Sara moved as one, rushing to the front and shoving the metal box further from the wall, giving them room to kneel. Brass pulled a flashlight from his pocket, aiming the thin beam inside. The light hit a blue jumpsuit, too large to be Catherine.  
The dumpster moved again, sending a hail of trash and two bodies onto the lid.

"Grissom!" Sara moved towards her boss but the arrival of EMTs halted her progress. She moved out of the way, one grasping Grissom and pulling gently, the other wrenching Catherine's prone body from his arms. Feeling something missing Grissom began to rouse, fingers clawing the air as the paramedic placed an oxygen mask over this face. Noticing his eyes were open the other man addressed him.  
"Can you stand?" He merely nodded, rising on shaking legs and allowing his right arm to be slung over the paramedic's shoulder. His eyes meanwhile never left his friend's form as she was lifted into Brass' waiting arms and carried to clean air, her eyes closed above her matching mask. Grissom felt himself moving and willed his legs to comply. The next sensation he felt was the hard floor beneath him. Squinting against the bright lights of the lab corridor he pulled the mask down and spoke, his voice coming out as a rasp.  
"Catherine?"  
"The other paramedic has her, she started coming to as they carried her out. She's ok." He closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, coughing slightly.  
"There was a bomb, in one of the trash cans."  
"We'll get to that, now can you please let this guy do his job?"  
A light was passed over both eyes, his arms and legs moved. He shook his head, attempting to rid himself of the ringing in his ears.  
"We should get you checked out at the hospital." Grissom's head was shaking more furvently and he was pulling himself to his feet before the sentence was finished. He scuttled along the corridor, Sara and the discarded paramedic trailing in his wake.

Voices caught his ears and he turned, crossing the threshold into his office. Brass was kneeling in front of the couch, holding the oxygen bottle that was connected to a now fully conscious Catherine, her paramedic sitting to one side and busily checking her vitals.  
In a rare display of emotion Grissom crossed the room, dropping down beside Catherine and enveloping her in a hug, taking care to avoid the mask she was holding to her face. He felt her free arms come to rest on his back.  
"I'm ok. A little banged up but ok." Her voice was hoarse and muffled by the plastic. Pulling back he looked at her face, frowning at the blood seeping from her hairline.  
"You should go to the hospital."  
"Only if you go first." The mask removed and discarded to the side.  
"Cath..."  
"Don't start with me Gil Grissom. You should still be on oxygen." She nodded towards the doorway and the redundant paramedic holding the oxygen tank. Grissom rolled his eyes but gestured for it to be brought over, ingoring Catherine's triumphant grin as he placed the mask back over his face.

"Now that we know you guys are going to be ok, you wanna fill me in on what the hell happened?" Brass leaned against the edge of Grissom's desk, watching Catherine wince as the paramedic began cleaning the cut on her forehead. Before either could respond Greg charged into the room, his face draining of colour as he took in their battered appearances.  
"Gris... Cath... God I'm so sorry. I should've checked the trash can at the scene, if I had..."  
Catherine shook her head.  
"Greg it's not your fault. We've all done it, especially with a time sensitive case. And we're fine. Desperately needing showers, but fine."  
"So the bomb was in a trash can from Nick's scene?" All four CSIs nodded and Brass' expression darkened. "Bit of a coincidence don't you think? Three CSIs targetted in less than 24 hours?"  
"That's a bit of a stretch Jim, that bomb could've gone off at any time. From the brief look I got at it the thing was pretty basic."  
"If that's true then how come the two of you just happened to be in range when it went off?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I need to make a call." He brushed past Sara and was out the door before anyone could object.

"This cut need sitches, we need to take you to the hospital ma'am."  
"Not a chance, can someone get Doc here? He can patch me up."  
Sara called down to autopsy while Catherine and Grissom signed the necessary forms to say they wouldn't be going to hospital.  
Hodges entered the office, passing the retreating paramedics.  
"That was some explosion, knocked me right off my feet! Two guys from the fire department are in there now, had to get one of them to look at this cut on my arm. He said I'll be ok though."  
Even Sara, who was the closest had trouble locating the miniscule nick on his left forearm.  
Grissom and Catherine exchanged looks.  
"Thank you for your concern David, it's truly touching," Grissom quipped, drawing the younger man's attention to them.  
"Jesus! You guys look like hell!"  
"Being blown up tends to have that effect," Catherine commented dryly, shifting her position and wincing as she put her weight on her left hand; the move didn't go unnoticed by Grissom.  
"Why didn't you tell the paramedics you were hurt?"  
"I'm fine, it's just a little tender."

He rolled his eyes and stood, grasping her uninjured hand and helping her to her feet.  
"Sara I'm taking Cath to Doc Robbins, get her head stitched and have him take a look at her wrist."  
The brunette nodded. "As soon as the fire department are done Greg and I will start processing." The aforementioned wandered back into the room, putting his phone back in his pocket.  
"Just spoke to Warrick, he said Nick has improved a bit so he's on his way back here to help out. The doctors are keeping Nick sedated and on a breathing tube for the time being, until the swelling in his throat goes down."  
"Let's suit up then partner, I'll meet you at the locker room." Sara watched Greg go then turned to the older couple. "We've got this you guys, don't even think about trying to get involved."  
Catherine smiled gratefully. "Thanks Sara."  
"And Griss? Get Doc to check you out too, you barely let that paramedic touch you."  
"Oh I'll make sure he does," the strawberry blonde cut in, nudging him gently in the ribs. Both women frowned in concern at the gasp of pain he let out. "Come on, Doc can take a look at that. Now who should've told the paramedics they were hurt?"

Sara watched them go, chuckling at Grissom's grumbled response before heading off to meet Greg.

*

For once I haven't ended on a cliff hanger! I know, it's a shock to me too haha!

Lily  
-x-


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, sorry for the slightly longer gap between updates, blame life getting in the way lol. Just finished day three of a nine day stretch at work, but after that I get a day off, work a day and a half then off for nine days whoop! Hoping to get some writing done in that time, once I've got all the boring adult crap out of the way. I seriously need a self cleaning house!  
Anyway I've rambled enough. Here's the update.

Warrick Brown screeched his car to a stop and jumped out, meandering his way through police cars to the lab entrance. A small crowd had gathered, intrigued by the presence of a fire engine and ambulances. There was even a TV crew, who Warrick hoped to avoid. He'd almost reached the door, nodding at the two officers standing guard when a voice called out his name.  
"Warrick! Warrick please!" He groaned and turned, the 'no comment' he had prepared dying on his lips as he came face to face with a concerned looking Lily, a sleepy Lindsey in her arms, being gently held back by a third officer.  
"Lily? What are you doing here?" He motioned for the other man to let her pass and guided her up the remaining steps and inside the lab, the accrid smell of smoke hitting their nostrils immediately.  
"There was something on the news about an incident at the lab. I tried Catherine's cell and got no answer, the switchboard was jammed so I loaded Lindsey in the car and came down. What happened?"  
"All I know is there was some kind of explosion. I'll get you guys settled in here and find out more I promise." He led the older woman into the breakroom, grabbing her a mug of coffee while she placed the now sleeping child onto the couch, covering her with a spare jacket before accepting the hot drink gratefully.

"Warrick, Sara and Greg said to send you to the garage when you got here. You're going to need a jumpsuit it's a real mess in there." Hodges stuck his head into the room, his bandaged arm resting on the door jam."  
"Sure. Hodges have you seen Catherine?"  
"She's in the morgue."

Lily let out a strangled groan as her legs buckled, collapsing into the closest chair. Warrick stared at the lab rat, his gaze flitting between devastated and murderous. Realising what he'd said the other man's eyes widened, the colour draining from his face.  
"No, no she's fine. She refused to go to the hospital so Grissom took her down there so Doc could stitch a cut and check her over! She's fine, oh God I'm so sorry!" He dashed back to his lab before Warrick could throttle him.  
"He better run because I'm going to kill him when I get hold of him. I'm so sorry he scared you like that Lily, he's a fricken idiot."  
"It's fine," she replied, wiping her eyes as the colour began to return to her cheeks. "Although if Lindsey had been awake you'd be calling an ambulance back."  
Warrick smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "You going to be ok here? I'll come back and check on you guys soon."  
Lily patted his hand. "We'll be fine, you go figure out what happened. I'm sure Catherine will be back soon."  
He nodded and headed to the locker room. As he passed Hodges' lab he wasn't entirely unsurprised to find it empty.  
"Damn moron," he mumbled before disappearing into the locker room to change.

"Would it kill Doc to keep a stash of local anaesthetic?" Catherine grumbled, scratching lightly at the skin around her stitches.  
"His regular clientel don't tend to have much use for it," Grissom quipped, his smirk morphing into a grimace as an elbow collided with his bruised ribs. "Hey! What was that for?"  
"At least we're on the same page pain wise now."  
He raised an eyebrow and gestured to her freshly cast wrist. "Hairline fracture trumps brusies my dear."  
"Doesn't it strike you as odd that Doc had the necessary supplies to cast my wrist but nothing to numb the pain? Cause last I checked corpses don't really care about broken bones healing."  
"You have a point, I may have to ask him about that."  
The red head yawned. "I seriously need coffee."  
Grissom's hand moved to the small of her back as he guided her round the corner and into the breakroom.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Her daughter's voice roused Lily from her uncomfortable slumber.

"Oh Catherine thank God you're ok, what happened to your arm?"  
"Not now, where's Lindsey?"  
The older woman glanced at the end of the couch, her eyes widening as she noticed it was empty.  
"I... I don't know. She was just here."

Her last words fell on deaf ears; Catherine was already off and running down the corridor Grissom trailing in her wake.  
"Lindsey! Lindsey!" She weaved round a corner, narrowly avoiding a collision with Hodges. Grissom was struggling to keep up with her, the pain in his ribs hampering his progress. He was just passing his office when he felt something small collide with his legs.  
"Uncle Gil! I've missed you! Where's mommy  
He stooped to pick up the little girl, her arms automatically finding their place round his neck. He stopped a passing lab tech, instructing them to chase down Catherine and tell her where they were before retreating to his office, setting Lindsey down on his couch.  
"Your mom's on her way. Sweetheart, why did you wander off from your grandma?"  
The small blonde shrugged.  
"I woke up and Gramma was sleeping. I got bored and you always have cool stuff in your office so I came here."  
Grissom had to suppress a smile.  
"Did you get any new bugs?"

His reply died on his lips as Catherine rushed into the room, dropping to the couch and enveloping her daughter in a one armed hug.  
"Lindsey! Why did you wander off?"  
"Mommy, Uncle Gil already asked me that. I was bored."  
Neither Grissom nor Catherine could help but smile; the tone of voice gave the latter a small taste of what the teenage years could hold.  
"What happened to your arm mommy?"  
"It's fine sweetheart, I just fell and hurt it a little. I'm ok."

Lindsey snuggled into her mother's side as Grissom instructed the same lab tech to head to the break room to tell Lily everything was fine.  
"Uncle Gil, why do you have a picture of mommy on your desk?"  
Both adults stared at each other, Catherine's eyebrows resting somewhere hear her hairline. Grissom cleared his throat.  
"What picture Linds?"  
"It's right here." She jumped off the couch and crossed to the desk, returning with a piece of paper which she proudly handed to him.  
He held it at arms length, cursing the loss of his glasses. His eyes widened as he scanned the image.  
"Lindsey was this the only picture you found?"  
"Nope, there were a bunch more." Another trip to the desk yeilded a stack of papers. As he flipped through each one Grissom could feel a sense of dread in the pit of his stomach, cinching tighter with each turn of the page.

"Gil?"  
"Did I do something wrong Uncle Gil? Mommy always tells me not to snoop."  
"No sweetheart, you actually did great." Seeing Greg passing the he called out, motioning the younger man to enter. "Greg take Lindsey back to Lily in the breakroom. Tell them to stay put until I come get them. Then find Warrick and Sara and come back here." Greg complied and Grissom moved to his desk, lifting the phone and dialling a number.  
"Gil, what's going on?" He met Catherine's gaze, the amount of concern reflecting in his eyes alarming her. He passed her the stack of papers, watching her eyes widen as she scanned each image.  
The voice on the other end of the line jolted his from his reverie.

"Jim? It's Gil. I need you at the lab. I'm starting to think your theory wasn't such a stretch after all."

*  
DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUN! Hope ya'll liked it

Lily  
-x-


	5. Chapter 5

So here's the next chapter. I'm just starting a week off work so hoping to get some more written/typed up and hopefully posted.

Some time later Catherine and Grissom were joined in the office by Warrick, Greg and Brass.  
Sara entered just as Grissom was pinning the last picture to the board.  
"What the hell?" From her initial glance there had to be over twenty pictures displayed; black and white candid shots of all of them ranging from Warrick coming out of a casino, Nick picking up his dry cleaning, Greg at his car, Catherine leaving her house and Grissom entering the lab.  
"Sara shut the door."  
She complied and took a seat on the couch next to Catherine. Brass stood.

"It's looking like the bomb and Nick's attack are connected. Someone is targetting you guys. Grissom received these pictures today, hand delivered. I've got Archie looking at he CCTV, he'll let me know when he finds something. I've also sent officers to all of your homes. There's going to be two officer's stationed outside Nick's hospital room until this is over."  
He paused for a moment, watching the faces of his friends and colleagues before he dropped the final bomb.  
"I've alread spoken to the Sherrif, he's insisting on protective custody for all of you until this is resolved."

As predicted, the room exploded. All the other occupants spoke at once, each voicin vehement oppositiong. Grissom, who had been just as blindsided by Brass' statement, objected loudly.  
"We can't do that Jim. Who knows what this guy will do if we all go into hiding."  
"So you'd rather another one of your team gets injured, or worse?"  
Glancing round the room, for once Grissom had no answer.  
"We're still nailing down the specifics but once your places have been cleared an officer will escort each of you home to pack some things. You'll all come back here before being transported to the safe house. I know moving you in one group is risky, but the fewer people who know about this the better."

The shouts lessened to murmers, each person digesting the information. Until a lone voice spoke out.  
"I'm not going."  
All eyes fixed on the strawberry blonde, Grissom the first to find his voice.  
"No way Cath."  
"I'm not leaving my mother and Lindsey to fend for themselves, especially as this psycho knows where I live. They come too or I stay at home."  
Brass chose his next words carefully; he wasn't eager to incur the barely controlled wrath of the woman in front of him, even if she was injured.  
"The Sherrif was specific. Only the people under imminent threat of harm are going to the safe house. That's the five of you."  
"Then count me out." Brass tried to counter until Grissom moved, kneeling beside Catherine and effectively silencing the captain's rebuttal.  
"Is there another way? A way you can come with us and keep Lily and Lindsey safe?"  
His eyes bore into hers, conveying a message not meant for other ears. She held his gaze for what felt like an eternity for the observers. Eventually Catherine stood and crossed the room, heading for the door.  
"Cath? Where are you going?"  
She glanced back at Greg as she pulled the door open.  
"To make a deal with the devil."  
Then the door shut and she was gone.

Catherine took a deep breath as the car pulled up outside the Tangiers and Detective Vartann killed the engine. He'd met her in the lab parking lot, evidently following a lightening call from Brass amd insisted on accompanying her. She hadn't put up much of a fight; she was exhausted and suspected the cast on her left arm would hinder her ability to drive.  
"You ok?"  
She jumped at the sound of his voice in her right ear. She hadn't even noticed him get out of car let alone open her door. She brushed him off and slid out.  
"Let's get this over with."

They walked inside and approached the front desk, Vartann trailing slightly behind. His eyes scanned the crowds of people milling around, alert to any potential threat. He didn't feel like facing Brass and the rest of Grave Shift if something happened to their friend on his watch; he was pretty sure he'd become intimately acquainted with Doc Robbins' slab.  
The receptionist behind the desk looked up at Catherine's approach, the 100 watt smile faltering slightly as she took in the older woman's appearance.  
"Can I help you?"  
"Is Sam around? I need to speak with him."  
The brunette barely managed to suppress an eyeroll. What was it with these people who thought they could just waltz in here and demand to see the owner?  
"I'm afraid Mr Braun is very busy..."  
"Call him please. Tell him Catherine needs to see him. It's urgent."  
This time the woman did roll her eyes.  
"Look ma'am, like I said, Mr Braun is a very busy man."  
"Listen lady, in case you hadn't noticed I'm not having the best day. My patience is hanging by a thread so just pick up the damn phone and call him. Or I'll reach over and do it for you."

"Is everything ok here Suzanne?" The man in question appeared at the desk, shooting the brunette a glance before turning to Catherine, his eyes widening.  
""Jesus Muggs, what the hell happened to you?"  
"Sam. Can we go somewhere and talk?"  
"Of course! Suzanne hold my calls, I don't want to be disturbed."  
He led Catherine towards the bank of elevators, his eyebrows raising as Vartann followed them into an empty car.  
"Who's this guy?"  
A ghost of a smile flitted across her lips.  
"My muscle."

Once they were inside Sam's office and the man had been sworn to secrecy, Catherine briefly outlines the situation. When she was finished Sam exhaled loudly.  
"What do you need from me Muggs? Money? Somewhere to lay low?"  
The strawberry blonde shook her head.  
"The Sherrif has organised a safe house for the team." Her usual composure slipped for a moment but was quickly regained. "I need... I need you to take mom and Lindsey away from Vegas for a bit. Til this thing is sorted and I can come home."  
Sam's eyes widened; Vartann too was taken aback.  
"Muggs..."  
"Please Sam. This guy knows where I live; it's too dangerous for them to be here. They can't come to the safe house and I won't be going anywhere unless I can guarantee they'll be ok."  
Sam rose from behind his desk and moved to crouch beside Catherine's chair, daring to take her uninjured hand in his own and feeling surprised when she didn't pull away.  
"I promise I won't let anything happen to them. My guys will protect them the same way they do me; with their lives."  
She squeezed his hand almost imperceptibly and offered a grateful smile. "Thank you. I'll get them packed and have Vartann bring them here."  
"They don't need to pack. Whatever they need I'll get them when we arrive."  
"Sam? Thank you again." Against her better judgement she embraced him quickly before releasing him and heading to the elevator with Vartann at her heels. Only once they were inside and the doors were closed did the detective finally speak.  
"So, Sam Braun?"  
Catherine smiled slightly, rubbing idly at her cast.  
"He slept with my mother."

Back at the lab Warrick's and Greg's houses had been cleared so Detective Sam Vega had taken them to collect their things, Sara had retreated to the locker room stating she needed some time to clear her head, which left Grissom and Brass alone in the office. Making sure the door was shut tight, Brass crossed to a chair by the desk and sat down, regarding the man opposite.  
"What's on your mind Jim?" He didn't even glance up from whatever he was doing.  
"Something's bugging me. The report from Archie say that the bomb was detonated remotely using a cell phone trigger right?"  
Grissom merely nodded, eyes still down on the aforementioned report. "So here's the thing - how did he know when to make the call? How could he possibly predict just the right time to detonate it so that one or more of you guys would be in the firing line?"  
Finally the other man raised his head, removing his spare glasses and fixing Brass with a measured look.  
"You think he had help?"

The Captain nodded grimly.  
"But that would mean that whoever his accompliss is..."  
"Works at the lab, I know," Jim finished his friend's thought.  
"How could someone we know and work with conspire to injur or kill Catherine and I?" For a man who didn't get angry often, Grissom could feel his blood boiling.  
"I don't know. That's why I'm keeping the stalking and safe house location on a strict need to know basis. Only a handful of officers I trust implicitly know where you guys are going; not even the Sherrif has that information cause I picked the place. And I'm coming with you, that way I can be 100% certain you guys are safe."  
"You're a great friend Jim."  
"Yea well, the thought of having to break in a new grave shift team gives me an ulcer, I'm doing my health a service by keeping you guys alive."  
Brass had never been more grateful for a ringing cell phone than he was at that moment; emotions weren't really his strong suit.  
"Brass... Ok good... Yea we'll head over now then all meet back here. Thanks."  
He disconnected the call and turned to Grissom.  
"The rest of your houses have been cleared. Sofia already picked up Sara so I'm going to take you to get your stuff. If there's anything from your office you want to take, set it to one side so we can grab it and go when we get back."

There was a moments pause before Brass continued.  
"Cath and Sara will kill you if you bring your tarantula. Get Hodges to feed it."  
It took a few beats contemplation before Grissom responded.  
"You're probably right. Let's go."

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, they're all appreciated

Lily  
-x-


	6. Chapter 6

Hey guys. Sorry for the slow update. I've hit a major wall with the story. Should teach me not to start posting til I'm finished lol. But never fear, I've still got another two chapters typed up and another two finished in my notebook so there's still more fic goodness to come before I run out lol! Here's hoping my muse comes back, I'm going to try rewatching some CSI to see if that gets the juices flowing!  
Anyway, here's the next chapter.

A few hours later the team plus Lily and Lindsey were reconvened in Grissom's lab, their bags safely stowed in a minibus hidden at the back of the lab guarded by Vega; Brass' desire to keep this as hush hush as possible trumped any concerns he might have about them all going together. Besides, after the phone call he'd just had from Vartann, he had far more pressing worries.  
"We've got a problem." The minute the door was closed he wasted no time making his point. "I sent Vartann and another officer ahead to the safehouse to do a final safety check. It's been compromised."  
"Compromised how?" Grissom stared at Brass, regisering Lily's alarmed tone and Catherine's murmered response.  
"A door was busted, windows broken, it looked like the place had been tossed. We don't know if it's our guy but I'm not taking any chances. I can't take you guys there."

Catherine's cell phone beeped, breaking the tension and preventing any more discussion for the moment. She glanced at it quickly, her face unreadable, before standing.  
"Mom, Linds. Time to go."  
They headed for the door, mumbled goodbyes in their wake. Grissom followed without word or hesitation, trailing them through the charred garage and out to where Sam's SUV was waiting, parked and running behind their own currently idle means of tranportation.  
While Lily and Catherine talked with Sam, Grissom lifted Lindsey into a waiting car seat, busying himself with the task of strapping her in securely.  
"Uncle Gil? Take care of my mommy ok?" A lump rose in his throat; he managed to swallow it down as the harness slid into place with a click.  
"I promise." He pressed a quick kiss to her hair before sliding out of the way to allow the woman in question to say her own goodbyes.

"Be good for Gramma and Sam ok?"  
"I will. I'm going to miss you mommy. How long til I can come home?"  
Catherine blinked back tears, coughing slightly.  
"Soon sweetie. But for now you're going to have a lot of fun ok? I love you." Kissing her quickly the strawberry blonde stepped back, allowing one of Sam's men to shut the door tight. She had no idea where they were going; she told Sam it was best if she didn't know. As the car pulled away she held her right hand up to wave, smiling brightly despite the tears that slid down her cheeks. She felt Grissom's arm wrap round her shoulders as the car turned a corner and disappeared from view. His grip tightened as she buried her face in his chest, desperate to compose herself before facing her colleagues again. A few moments passed until she lifted her head, wiping her eyes with her good hand.

"You ok?"  
She shrugged. "I will be, once we nail this asshole and we all get to go home."  
They crossed back to the lab, Grissom's arm still loosely round her shoulders.  
"Let's go give Brass the good news." Off his look she managed a watery smile. "Sam's just provided the solution to his current problem."

After a fair few hours and blissfully uneventful journey they'd all arrived at one of Sam's properties, the sprawling building about 30 miles north of Lake Mead and their home for the time being. Dusk had begun to fall as they'd pulled up and all gone their seperate ways, staking claim to the room of their choice and retreating for some much needed solitude.  
Now, a freshly showered and a little more relaxed Grissom exited his room, intent on finding Brass. He didn't get very far. A curse followed by a hairbrush escaped from a partially open doorway next to his own. Stooping, he retrieved the missile and approached the door, knocking lightly before pushing it open.

"Is it safe to come in or are you going to launch anything else?"  
"You're a riot Alice." A decidedly frustrated looking Catherine greeted him. Her hair was still wet and she was clad in shorts and a tank top, the thick straps of a sports bra visible beneath the thinner ones. A rustling sound alerted him to the plastic bag covering her left arm, the handles secured at her elbow and protecting her cast from the shower water.  
"Everything ok?"  
She gestured to her covered arm and flushed slightly. "I may have tied it a little too well."

Chuckling Grissom closed the gap between them and easily ripped the plastic, gently pulling her arm free.  
"There. But that doesn't explain the flying hairbrush."  
His friend arched a brow.  
"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to tie a pony tail one handed?"  
"Can't say that's a problem I've ever had," he replied with a wry smile, turning her to face the mirror and plucking the hair tie from her fingers. Grasping her hair gently he smoothed it back along the crown, twisting it round itself before securing it in a bun at the back of her head. Her mouth fell open and she caught his eyes in the mirror.  
"Where did you learn how to do that?"  
Grissom shrugged.  
"My mother always wore her hair in a bun for work. When I was eleven she broke her arm, she taught me how to do it for her."

Catherine turned and smiled warmly at him; she was touched that this man who so seldom shared anything personal had told her this story. On impulse she reached up and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek.  
"Well thank you, you've got yourself a permanent job until my wrist heals."  
"Consider me your personal hair stylist."  
There was a beat before he spoke again.  
"You going for a run?" Off her confused look he gestured to her clothes. She glanced down and flushed slightly.  
"Ah no. Turns out doing up a bra one handed is nigh on impossible so this was the easier option."  
"Right... Sorry."  
"What, no offer to be my bra fastener as well as my stylist?" She winked and laughed, looping her arm through his and exiting the room.

Grissom cleared his throat, feeling the heat spreading up his cheeks. Thank God he'd kept his beard.  
"Why don't we see what everyone else is up to?"

They found the rest of the team, plus Brass, Vega, Vartann and Sofia congregated in the kitchen. Sam had told all the staff bar four security guys he trusted implicitly they were getting paid vacation time, duration unknown. They'd been given strict instructions to leave everything fully stocked and then hand their keys over to security. Brass had wondered what kind of yarn Sam had spun them; then again, who knows what kind of strange requests they'd had to deal with from some of his guests.  
"So, what exactly is the plan now we're here?" Warrick asked, shifting up slightly to allow Grissom and Catherine to join them round the enormous breakfast bar. The chef had left a selection of food out and they were all currently helping themselves. None of them could rememeber the last time they'd eaten, although they were sure it was before this whole nightmare had started.

"Keeping you guys safe is the only plan I have," Brass responded, swallowing half a sandwich. "Vartann and Sofia are heading back to Vegas in the morning to continue working on the investigation. I had an update from the guys watching Nick, he's still sedated. The swelling in his throat is a little slow to go down so he's being kept on the breathing tube. His eyes are starting to respond to stimuli so the doctors are hopeful there's no lasting damage."

"Did we get any results from Hodges?" Sara chimed in, passing a sandwich over to Catherine. She had to bite back a smile as she noticed Grissom cut it down so the blonde wouldn't struggle to hold it one handed.  
"He's supposed to be e-mailing them to me and Brass the minute they're in. So far nothing."  
"So basically we just hide out here doing nothing til you catch this guy?" Greg questioned.  
Brass sighed. "That's pretty much it, yeah."  
"This is such bull." The younger man pushed back from the breakfast bar and stalked off, disappearing somewhere in the house. Glances passed between the other occupants before Warrick rose and followed.

"He needs to calm himself down or he's going to drive himself crazy."  
"He has a point Jim," Catherine countered. "We're all frustrated. This asshole has forced us into hiding. And I know it's for our own protection but we feel useless. We should be helping catch him, not running scared." The room was quiet for a few moments before Sara piped up.  
"Who says we can't? Griss I'm sure you've got your laptop." He nodded his confirmation. "And I *may* have brought the pictures and evidence reports already in. Brass and Hodges can keep us looped in, there's no reason why we can't carry on working theories."  
Catherine grinned and stood. "Sar you're a genius. I'll go grab Warrick and Greg, we'll meet you in the den in ten minutes.

The man scrubbed a frustrated hand over his face and leaned back in his chair, the security footage running on a loop on the screen. It thrilled him a little more every time the glass shattered and smoke began billowing. The fact that his associate had been able to get the CCTV images of the lab explosion was the only thing keeping them from bearing the full brunt of his annoyance. He had figured the CSIs would make the connection between the two attacks. He'd also been prepared for the police department to insist on protective custody; the safe house locations had been relatively easy for his associate to obtain. What he hadn't been prepared for was the speed at which they'd connected the dots. He'd had a few more surprises up his sleeve that he was rather disappointed at having to shelve.

The ringing of his cell phone jolted him from his reverie. Checking the display he pushed Accept and brought the phone to his ear.  
"Yeah?"  
The voice on the other end was rapid and low. And the words it was uttering made his temper flair.  
"What the hell? What do you mean you don't know where they are?"  
More mumbled apologies filled his ear and he rolled his eyes.  
"I don't give a shit. Find them."

He slammed the phone down on the desk in front of him, punching the wood next to it with a grunt.  
Things most definitely weren't going to plan.

There we go. Hope ya'll are still reading lol

Lily  
-x-


	7. Chapter 7

Ok guys, here is one of the two chapters I have typed up. I'm hoping to get the other two from my notebook typed up. I've made a tiny bit of headway so I'm hopeful I'm getting over the blockage. Hopefully there are still some people reading this lol!

It didn't take long for the group to assemble in the den, minus the three detectives - Vartann and Sofia had opted to head back to Vegas early, while Vega was meeting with Sam's security team.

"So apart from the fact that some psycho is after us, what do we know?" Greg began from his spot between Sara and Warrick on a couch. Grissom glanced up from his laptop.  
"I've just had an e-mail from Hodges, the results came back on the substance Nick was sprayed with. It was standard pepper spray mixed with diethyl sulfate. It explains why it's done so much damage."  
"Anyone want to explain for the non scientist in the room?"  
"Think of this combination as pepper spray on steroids and PCP - seriously strong and nasty." Catherine clarified for Brass. He whistled quietly then glanced at Grissom, who nodded for him to continue.  
"There's more. We think our guy has an accomplis. And we think it's someone who works in the lab."

A heavy silence fell over the room as each CSI digested the information; the news that they had been betrayed by a colleague, a friend, weighing on everyone.  
A few minutes passed before Warrick broke the hush.  
"Are there any leads?"  
Brass shook his head. "We've got to be careful, I don't want to tip whoever it is off. It's a long shot but I've got Archie going over all the outgoing calls in the fifteen minutes prior to the explosion but with the amount of people in the lab that's going to be a lot to look at." He paused before continuing. "It's why everything has been kept need to know."  
"Aren't you worried that Archie might be involved?" Greg shot back sarcastically, ignoring the nudge he recieved from Sara.  
"Archie's lab doesn't have a clear view of the garage and both Catherine and I went from my office. He had no way of knowing anyone was in there."  
"And the only time he moves is after the explosion. I had Sofia check the footage." Brass finished.

"So where exactly do we go from here?" Sara opened her briefcase and began pulling files from it.  
"I don't know about anyone else but I'm going to bed," Catherine stood, speaking for the first time in a while. Grissom frowned, noticing how pale she looked as she crossed the room and headed out the door.  
"She has a point," Warrick agreed. "We've all been on the go for what? Forty eight hours nearly? Maybe we'll be able to think more clearly once we've had some sleep." Greg and Sara nodded their assent and bidding their goodnights exited with Warrick, leaving Brass and Grissom alone.  
"You're not exempt from that Gil. We're not going to make any more progress tonight, this will keep til morning."

Grissom pulled off his glasses and scrubbed a weary hand over his face.  
"You're right," he acquiesed, closing the folder in front of him and replacing his glasses before following Brass out of the room, flipping the light off and closing the door with a click.

Catherine's door was shut when Grissom arrived at his room and remained shut as he crossed the hall to brush his teeth. When he exited the bathroom however her door was ajar and he could see a sliver of light shining through. Dumping his toiletries and clothes in his room he approached hers and knocked lightly before entering.  
"Cath?"  
She was sitting on the bed with her back to him. He frowned as he noticed her shoulders shaking and moved to stand in front of her, slowly so as not to startle her.  
"Catherine? Are you ok?"

His concern rose when she lifted her head to meet his gaze and he registered the sheen of perspiration on her forehead, despite the baggy tank top and silk shorts she was wearing.  
"I'm fine," she replied with a grimace, the rattle of pills in a bottle alerting him to what she was trying to do.  
"When was the last time you had any pain relief?"  
The redhead flushed.  
"I found these in my desk drawer after Doc set my arm. I took two before I went to speak to Sam, Vartann opened the bottle."  
Grissom's eyes widened.  
"Jesus that was yesterday! No wonder you're in pain honey." The endearment slipped from his lips as he eased the bottle of medication from her fingers, neither acknowledging it. He twisted the lid off, tipped two chalky white pills into the palm of his hand and passed them to Catherine, who swallowed them gratefully with the glass of water from the bedside table. She closed her eyes briefly, praying they would be swift to take effect.  
"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Grissom shifted to perch next to her. She shrugged.  
"I hate asking people for help, relying on someone to do basic things. It makes me feel useless." Her voice trailed off and she looked down at her hands. Without hesitating he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her towards him, her head falling to rest on his chest.

"Am I just someone?"  
She shook her head and moved a little closer, his embrace and the pills working to relax her tense body.  
"Then come to me. Anything you need until you heal, let me help you. Even if it involves doing up bras and painting nails." He dropped a quick kiss to the top of her head, then berated himself for the impulse.  
Catherine chuckled.  
"I had a manicure last week so you've dodged that bullet, I may take you up on the bra thing though." She yawned and Grissom noticed her eyelids beginning to droop. He rose slightly, allowing her to continue leaning on him as he pulled the covers back.  
"Come on, let's get you into bed."  
Despite her exhaustion the woman in his arms cracked one eye open, the matching eyebrow arching as he brought her back to rest against the pillows.

He rolled his eyes, pulling the sheet up to her chest and brushing her bangs back from her forehead. "Not in that way."  
"Pity, I'm sure I'd enjoy it," she mumbled drowsily, sleeps pull already overpowering her.  
Grissom's eyes widened as he tried desperately not to read too much into her words; he knew people were prone to say crazy things when exhausted and medicated. Still, he couldn't deny the thrill that spread through his chest as he settled himself on the bed, propped up on top of the covers.

He told himself he would only stay for a few minutes, and continued to believe it even as his eyes slid closed and he followed Catherine into slumber.

Hope ya'll liked it.

Lily  
-x-


	8. Chapter 8

Hi guys. I've finally managed to finish typing this chapter up. I'm still working on the wall I've hit, but I've got two more complete chapters left before I get to that point in the story. Hope people are still reading.

Brass woke early, groaning as he opened his eyes and checked the time - 6:15 am. He showered and dressed before heading along the corridor. He passed the closed doors of the three younger CSIs then rounded the corner. He frowned as he approched Grissom's room, noting the wide open door and still made bed. His frown deepened when he noticed the similar state of Catherine's door.  
The captain placed a cautionary hand on his holster as he entered the dimly lit room. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face at the sight before him, his hand moving from his hip to pull out his phone, making sure the flash was off before snapping a quick picture for posterity.

Both Grissom and Catherine were sound asleep, the latter having shifted at some point during the night so her head was now resting on her bed fellow's shoulder, her cast draped across his chest. The grave shift supervisor had moved also, slipping lower in the bed and had an arm protectively wrapped around the strawberry blonde, keeping her close.  
Brass was loathed to wake them but cleared his throat, causing Grissom to stir and wake.

"Morning," Brass greeted him, still grinning. "You look comfortable."  
The other man's eyes widened as he glanced between Brass and Catherine, gently extricating himself from the latter and standing, a quick check confirmed she remained asleep.  
"It's not..." Grissom began but Jim held up a hand to silence him.  
"Your timing could use a little work buddy but damn, finally!"Off his old friend's confused look he continued, gesturing to the still sleeping woman. "You and Catherine. I've watched the two of you dance around each other for years, but I'd given up hope you'd ever grow a pair and make a move."

Grissom flushed, very grateful Catherine was still sleeping.  
"Sorry to burst your bubble Jim but nothing happened. I helped Cath with her pain meds and I guess the last few days caught up with me, I fell asleep."  
The other man rolled his eyes.  
"You know, despite my crack about bad timing I thought this whole situation might be the kick up the ass you needed to finally come clean and tell her how you feel."  
Grissom paused, a denial dying on his lips. He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose beneath his glasses.  
"It's not that easy Jim."  
"Bullshit. 'Not that easy' would've been telling her when she was still married to that scumbag Eddie. I know you don't need me to tell you that explosion could've been a lost more serious, for either of you."

Brass knew it was a bit of a cheap shot but it seemed to work. His friend looked over his shoulder, his eyes moving slowly between the cast on Catherine's arm and the stitches on her forehead. Brass had to bite back a triumphant grin as Grissom's shoulders sagged in defeat and he gave the smallest of nods.  
"You're right Jim, I need to know for sure. When this mess is over I'll talk to her." Off the other man's pointed look he rolled his eyes. "And tell her how I feel.".  
"We don't know how long this will take though," his friend pointed out.  
"Baby steps. I've just decided to tell my oldest friend I'm in love with her, possibly ruining everything. I need a little longer to build up the courage and figure out what I'm going to say."  
The captain chuckled. "I've heard a kiss gives women a pretty good idea of feelings."  
Grissom levelled him with a stare. "She'd deck me."  
"I'd bet my pension she wouldn't."  
Shaking his head, Gil moved toward the door. Brass followed a step behind.  
"I'm jumping in the shower, I'll meet you downstairs in a bit."

The two men exited the room, pulling the door shut with a soft click.  
A few moments later the woman in question opened her eyes. Catherine blinked a few times, trying to digest the conversation she'd just heard before sighing and sitting up, leaning back against the headboard.  
"What?"

Passing through the corridors of the lab, feet beating an uneven rhythmn on the floor, the helper tried not to externally betray the anxious feelings threatening to overwhelm. The man had been furious, the phone call earlier the worst display of temper since the'd formed this... partnership, albeit a very lopsided one. It wasn't worth thinking about the consequences were if the CSIs weren't located, and quickly.  
Passing the AV lab, a few words of Archie's phone conversation filtered through the doorway to the helper's ears, halting the momentum of movement. Glancing round to ensure no one was paying attention, they leaned in a little, able to make out every word from the lab tech's end.

"It's slow going Brass but I think I'm starting to narrow it down... I'll send the list to Vartann as soon as I get it down to 20..."  
At that moment a couple of lab techs passed, nodding to the helper who shot them a smile while mentally cursing them for the interruption to the eavesdropping. A final word worked it's was through the mindless chatter.  
"...Sam..."

In a millisecond the helper's eyes widened, almsot feeling the click as the puzzle piece slipped into place in their brain.  
Moving quickly but calmly though the lab they found an empty computer with the screen facing away from the corridor before sitting down and entering in their credentials. Why hadn't it occurred before? While Catherine's paternity wasn't common knowledge throughout the lab, for someone this invisible it wasn't difficult to overhear a few conversations and figure it all out.

A handful of keystrokes, clicks and a bit of deductive reasoning later, the helper had all that was needed. Grinning the figure logged out and left the computer lab, easger to get somewhere quiet and call the man. He would be overjoyed to hear that they had what he wanted.  
In the helper's zeal, they'd failed to notice the suspicious gaze of Detective Vartann follow them along the corridor and out of sight.

Exiting the building, a burner phone was pulled from a pocket and the only number stored on it speed dialled.  
The grin returned as the man answered on the second ring.  
"Sir it's me. I know where they are."

The man hung up the phone, punching the address into the computer and waited for the directions to load. Hitting print he switched screens, typing furiously. Within minutes the screen was filled with boxes, the moving images bringing a broad grin to his face.  
On a seperate monitor blueprints were conjured with a few keystrokes and clicks, his original plan already morphing in his mind.  
This was going to be fun.

There we go. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm going to try and get the other two typed up and posted ASAP.  
Lily  
-x-


	9. Chapter 9

Hi guys. Yet another chapter beginning with apologies. I completely suck I know. I literally just finished typing this up now, I wanted to get it uploaded ASAP for any lingering reader that hasn't totally given up on this story. Despite the persistent writer's block, I'm two days away from getting the keys to my new house so packing and sorting through all the crap that moving house entails has also taken up a lot of my time. I do have another two chapters complete in my notebook ready for typing, and I've made a small start on Chapter Twelve. Anyway, here's the latest chapter. To anyone still reading, thank you.

The sun was barely peeking above the horizon as Sara stepped out onto the patio, steaming mug of coffee in one hand. Sighing, she pulled the glass door shut with a soft click and crossed to the stone steps leading down to the vast lawn, the hedges and fence just visible in the gloom.  
She sat down, glancing around her and pulling a pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her jacket pocket. Lighting one she inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and exhaling through her nose, the plume of smoke mingling with the crisp dawn air.

"Didn't you quit years ago?" The brunette jumped as the sound of Catherine's voice, shifting slightly so the older woman could sit.  
"I found these in the drawer in my room. Didn't think a beer was a good idea given the circumstances so these were the next best thing."  
Catherine nodded her understanding and picked up the packet that lay between them. Sara had to admire the dexterity with which the strawberry blonde removed a cigarette one handed and brought it to her lips, lighting it with the glowing end of Sara's before exhaling.

"I didn't think anyone else was up."  
"I couldn't sleep." The younger woman offered her mug to Catherine, who took a grateful sip and handed it back.  
"Me either."  
"Arm still bothering you?"  
Catherine shrugged, taking another drag. "Not so much now I'm taking the pain meds regularly."  
"Grissom seems to enjoy playing nurse." Sara chuckled at the flush that spread over her friend's face. "So... Anything I should know?"

Catherine shook her head once, flicking ash into a crack between paving slabs.  
"Not ready to talk about it, gotcha."  
The brunette took one last drag on the cigarette before crushing it against the step and tucking it into a hole in the low wall next to her. Catherine followed suit, smiling as she accepted Sara's helping hand and stood.  
As they turned and reentered the house, they missed the slight glint of the early morning sun catching the binocular lenses that were focussed on their retreating backs.

Detective Vartann moved slowly through the lab corridor. Something about the seemingly innocent actions he's witness hours earlier didn't sit right, and that unnerved him.  
Just as he was about to pass an empty computer lab the glowing of the monitor reflected against the wall snared his attention, making him change course and enter. The log in screen seemed innocuous enough, but that nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach remained. Pulling out his cell phone he keyed in a number, tapping his fingers lightly on the desk as he waited for it to connect.

"Hey Archie it's Vartann. I know you're swamped but I need you to meet me in computer lab three and bring your list of phone calls from the time of the explosion. I've got a hunch."  
A few minutes later a weary looking Archie appeared, balancing the file, his laptop and a mug of coffee. Vartann relieved him of all but the latter which the exhausted lab rat clung to as he sank into the closest chair.  
"What do you need Detective?"  
"Can you pull up a list of everyone that's worked on this computer in the last 24 hours?"  
"Piece of cake, even if I am running on fumes."

As Archie's fingers moved over the keys Vartann was sure that his words per minute was still double his own on a good day.  
"Ok, here are all the people who worked on here in that time frame." Only five names. Vartann's eyes scanned them, stopping on one. He could feel a puzzle piece shift in his brain, half sliding into place.  
"Any cross over with the phone calls placed prior to the explosion?"  
Archie flipped open the file next to him and flicked between page and screen.  
"Yea..."

Preempting Vartann's next request Archie accessed the person's log. A few more keystrokes and everything that they'd worked on last filled the screen. Vartann cursed under his breath, that last puzzle piece slamming home.  
"Where are they now?"  
"Shift finished an hour ago. This information was accessed twenty hours before that."  
"Shit." The detective yanked his phone from his pocket, hitting speed dial as he brought it up to his ear. He dispensed with any pleasentries as the call connected; they couldn't afford to waste any more time.  
"Sofia I've found the mole. I need to get hold of Brass. You pick her up."

Dusk was falling over the safehouse. Grissom was in the lounge, laptop open before him. Despite being somewhat of a self confessed Luddite, he was suddenly very grateful the lab director had forced everyone to upload all their casefiles into a database. Grissom was almost certain the person behind this was targetting them over a case, but the sheer number of cases Graveshift had dealt with over the years made narrowing potential suspects down an incredibly daunting task. And that number increased exponentially if you took into account the cases he and Catherine had worked prior to the arrival of the younger team members.  
He huffed a frustrated sigh, removing his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Going well I take it?" Brass entered the room, settling next to Grissom on the couch and passing him one of the mugs of coffee he held in his hands. It was accepted gratefully, despite the grunt that accompanied it.  
"It's like trying to find a specific needle in a stack of needles."  
Brass chuckled, leaning back against the cushions. They lapsed into silence, punctuated by the odd click of the trackpad as Grissom scrolled through cases.  
"It's pretty quiet, where's the rest of the team?"  
"They all went their separate ways a few hours ago. Catherine's probably resting, I'm not sure what the others are up to."  
"Surprised you're not up there with her playing nurse."

Grissom rolled his eyes, mouth opening to deliver a retort. It was replaced by an exclaimation as the lights in the room - and presumably the rest of the house - cut out, plunging them into a semi-darkness broken only by the eerie glow from the laptop screen.  
"What the hell?" Brass was on his feet, weapon drawn by his side and glancing around the gloom.

"Jim." Grissom yanked his friend's sleeve, pulling him back down onto the couch and gesturing at the computer.  
The arrow moved of it's own accord, hovering over the dearch bar before being replaced by the flashing cursor.  
"How the hell are you doing that?"  
Gil shifted the hands that were resting on his knees, eyes not leaving the screen.  
"I'm not."

Hope ya'll like it.

Lily  
-x-


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys. I know, I know, I suck. But aside from the usual 'writer's block, can't find inspiration' spiel I normally use as an apology I also just bought my first house and moved in two weeks ago so everything here has been totally insane and stressful. Add to that work and my little girl starting school and you don't really get an environment conducive to writing or posting.  
Excuses aside, here's chapter ten. I have one more full chapter typed up and ready to go, and the beginnings of chapter twelve in my notebook. Hopefully now things are starting to calm down a bit I may get a spark of inspiration soon. Ya'll cross your fingers for me!  
Anyway, enjoy.

"I'm sorry, the number you are trying to reach is unavailable, please try again."  
Vartann cursed, punching the end call buttong and tossing the phone into the open centre console, simultaneously pushing his foot down on the accelorator. After five unsuccessful calls to Brass he'd left the lab, a leaden feeling in the depths of his gut telling him he needed to get to the safehouse and fast. Two further calls to Vega and the Sherrif, appraising them of the situation and requesting back up to meet him at Sam's house had followed.  
Scrubbing a hand across his face with frustration, he grabbed his phone again and punched in the direct line to Sam's security hut as he weaved his way through the trafic, the buzzing ring in his ear melding with the wail of his siren.

19... 20... 21... 22...

"Fuck." Now he was even more certain something was very wrong. Almost as soon as he disconnected the call his phone buzzed twice. Two new messages.  
The first was from Vega, confirming he and a team were en route to Sam's. The second was from Sophia.  
Short and to the point, much like the blond.

"We've got her. Going in now. Will call with any info."

Sophia stowed her phone in her back pocket, shifting the file Archie had hand delivered to PD on Vartann's request into her now free hand and glancing through tehe window in the door of the interrogation room. She was buying herself some time; she'd love nothing more than to burst in there and beat the information they needed out of that... traitor, but she doubted that would help anyone.  
Squaring her shoulders Sofia opened the door, stepping across the threshold and letting it swing shut behind her.  
Mousey eyes met hers from behind black rimmed glasses.

"Oh Detective Curtis thank goodness you're here. I've got no idea why that officer brought me in and left me here, we can get this whole thing straightened out now."  
"I'm afraid that's not going to happen Judy." Sophia took a seat across from the Crime Lab receptionist, placing the file on the metal table in front of her and flipping it open.  
The other woman's face fell, imperceptibly unless you were a trained observer.  
"What do you mean? I don't understand."

Sophia didn't respond, looking down at the call log sheet. It was straight out of interrogation 101; drag out the silence long enough, it makes the suspect uncomfortable enought to want to fill it. The detective had seen it work on some seriously hardened criminals so she wasn't surprised when it started to have it's affect on Judy after just a few minutes.  
"Can you at least tell me what this is about?"  
Another minute or so passed before Sophia finally lifted her head, meeting the other woman's gaze.

"Five minutes prior to the lab explosion you made a phone call that lasted 20 seconds to a burner phone. Why?"  
Judy frowned and Sophia barely managed to suppress an eyeroll as she passed two sheets of paper one by one across the table.  
"This is a copy of all the calls made around that time, as well as a CCTV still of you making the call. Who was on the other end of the phone Judy?"  
"It was a wrong number."

The blonde smiled slightly. Little lie, big lie.  
"Then why did you make at least two other calls to the same number, one of them six hours before your shift ended?"  
The former receptionist swallowed before Sophia went in for the kill.  
"You also used your Crime Lab ID to access property records for Sam Braun in the ten minutes leading up to that last call. We know you're the mole and we know you've compromised the location of the safe house, and by extension put the CSIs in imminent danger so let's cut the clueless routine. You are going to prison Judy. How long for depends on your answer to my next question - Who are you working for?"

The brunette held the blonde in an unnerving, unblinking gaze for what felt like an eternity.  
Sophia was about to repeat her question, but it died on her lips as a manic smile spread slowly across the other woman's face.

"You'll find out soon enough. When he kills them all."

Hope ya'll like it  
Lily  
-x-


	11. Chapter 11

Hey everyone, or at least the maybe three people who are still reading this lol. I'm so sorry it looked like I'd more or less abandoned this fic, I haven't really got any excuses apart from life getting in the way, plus a serious case of writer's block yet again. But ya'll will be please to know I've been writing loads (well, as much as work and a child will allow) over the past few days. I've finally finished chapter twelve and made real headway with chapter thirteen so here's hoping I'm finally over the hump I hit.  
Hopefully anyone who's still reading this will enjoy the newest chapter.

Brass and Grissom continued to stare at the flashing cursor, neither knowing whether to move or wait and see what happened.  
"What the hell is going on?" Brass repeated, right hand still gripping his weapon.  
"I don't know," Grissom responded, his eyes never leaving the screen. Brass dug in his pants pocket, pulling out his cell phone and pressing a button.  
"No service." The other man finally tore his gaze from the computer. "First time that's happened since we got here." Brass continued.  
"I don't like this Jim."  
Grissom was about to stand, intent on gathering his team when movement on the screen caught his attention.

P-A-L-M-E-R, D-A-V-I-D

The hour glass appeared, signalling the search.  
A few second passed before the monitor yeilded it's results. Two pairs of eyes scanned the information, both widening as they felt the twinge of recognition. Decades old but still palpable.  
"Gil..."

The aforementioned's brain was a blaze of recognition. Synapse after synapse fired, producing a movie reel of flashbacks.  
He was a CSI 3, Catherine a CSI 2 and Brass was in charge of the unit. A rape homicide, slam dunk by anyone's standards but still received a fair amount of media coverage. Ample evidence, instant suspect in the boy next door, DNA match. It was textbook. He'd taken Catherine out for a drink after, celebrating her first major solve; it had been her hard work collecting and analysing the DNA evidence that had cemented the case against David Palmer.  
His brain then flashed to the trial, a snap shot from his time on the witness stand. A young boy, no older than 10, sitting alone at the back of the court room. His eyes boring into Gil during every second of his testimony.  
David Palmer had a younger brother.

Jolting back to the present, Grissom's gaze landed back on the laptop, flicking over the telltale light beside the webcame lens.

"I know you know I can see you."  
The level voice from the speakers raised the hair on the back of both men's necks. "I also know you're probably wondering how I did this. My skills are completely self taught. Had to spend those long nights in foster care somehow. Did you know David was my guardian when you locked him up, or did you guys just not care?"  
Brass tried surreptitiously to pull out his cell phone, but the disembodied voice didn't miss a thing.  
"Don't bother with your phones, I set up signal jammers all around the perimeter. Total radio silence. No cavalry riding to the rescue. And I wouldn't hold out much hope on Sam Braun's security guards."  
The laptop screen flickered, the case file replaced by CCTV footage of the security hut, four prone bodies slumped in chairs and on the floor. "The CO gas I pumped in there didn't seem to agree with them."

Grissom risked a quick glance at Brass, knowing the same thoughts were running through his head. They had no way of knowing where in the house their captor was. No way of communicating with each other without him knowing; it was obvious now that the house was covered by cameras which had been tapped into. But most frightening of all, they had no way to warn the rest of the team. The lights had been out for a while now, yet no one had appeared.

Grissom felt his heart clench.  
They could all already be dead.

Catherine had been lying on the bed reading when the lights went out.  
"What the hell?"  
She tossed the book down and grabbed for her phone, the dim green light offering only minimal illumination in the gloom. She noticed the no service message on the display and frowned. Something didn't feel right.  
A thump followed by a curse drifted to her ears as a dark figure entered the room.  
"Sara?"  
"Cath what the hell happened to the lights? I was coming down the hall when they went out."  
"I don't know. I've lost cell service too."  
A quick glance at Sara's own phone confirmed the same thing.  
"I don't like this. Where is everyone?"  
"I haven't seen anyone for a few hours."  
"We need to find Brass and Grissom so we can figure out what's going on."  
Shifting her phone to her left hand Sara reached behind her back and pulled her gun from the concealed holster on her belt. She raised an eyebrow at her friend's audible relaxation, an expression that was returned by the red head.  
"We're being stalked by a psycho who may have just found us and the lights have gone out, forgive me if I'm a little relieved that you're packing heat."  
Rolling her eyes Sara motioned for Catherine to follow her, keeping her gun drawn but low as they moved down the corridor.  
"The boy's rooms are down there."

Sara turned the corner at Catherine's instruction, the strawberry blonde switching on her own cell phone flashlight to enable the brunette to stow hers and keep both hands on her gun.  
"I think Greg's room is around here..."  
"What the hell!"  
The man in question appeared in front of the two women, hair even crazier than usual and clad in pyjamas. Catherine barely stifled an eyeroll.  
"Light's are out, something feels funky, need to find the rest of the team, we've already had this conversation Greg. Let's go."  
Greg fell in step behind Sara and the trio moved along in silence.

"Do you guys hear that?"  
Sara huffed in exasperation.  
"Greg now is not the time for a fart joke."  
"What am I, twelve?"  
"My guess would've been closer to eight."  
He shot Sara a withering look.  
"That clicking noise, do you hear it?"  
They all stopped, hardly breathing. A soft, metalic clicking permeated the heavy silence.  
"There!"  
Catherine pointed to the vent slightly ahead of them in the wall just below the ceiling.  
"I do not like the sound of that."  
Sara and Greg nodded.

"There's something in the air con system. Let's find Warrick, Brass and Griss and get the hell out of here."  
Sara raised her gun and moved forward, Greg and Catherine close behind her. As they passed under the vent it let out a hissing sound, a small puff of smoke pluming and curling toward the ceiling.  
"Get down!"  
The three dropped to the floor, Catherine grunting in pain as she landed heavily on her cast. The air above them began slowly to cloud as some kind of gas was pumped from the vent.  
"Stay low," Sara yelled, pulling the neck of her t-shirt over her nose and mouth as she began to crawl awkwardly forward, her gun arm remaining trained ahead of her. "Warrick's room must be along here somewhere."

Their voices melded together, an untuned chorus calling for their friend. As they moved, a wave of dizziness hit Catherine. She put her right arm out to steady herself but the door next to her gave way. She cried out as she tumbled into the room, rolling until she collided with something solid. Her head swam as she tried to right herself, the sound of her own name barely permeating the fog around her.  
Tilting her body she pushed herself up with her elbows, as her eyes met wide glassy brown ones.

Everything zeroed into focus and she gasped, pumping her legs to scramble away from the motionless body.  
Then she screamed.

Hope ya'll enjoyed it

Lily  
-x-


	12. Chapter 12

Hey guys, thanks so much for the reviews I've had. It's lovely to know that people are still interested in this story, or just discovering it, despite my long absences. Ya'll will be pleased to know I've got chapter thirteen written and have just made a start on chapter fourteen. I've got no idea how long this will be as it seems the more recent chapters have been somewhat shorter than the first ones, it's just the way things have fallen in the story. I know how things are going to end, I'm just in the process of figuring out how to get there. Anyway, here's the next chapter.

"So glad I've been able to refresh your memory Dr Grissom. Wouldn't want all of this to be in vain."  
"What do you want Martin?"  
There was a moment's pause from the speakers.  
"You remember my name." There was a note of surprise in the younger man's voice.  
"We remember the case," Brass spoke for the first time.  
"Detective Brass. Or should I say Captain now. I remember you interviewing me, asking me about my brother's alibi. Did you enjoy ripping a thirteen year old boy to shreds?"

Jim opened his mouth to answer but Grissom raised a finger, his hand low and out of the view of the web cam.  
"We're sorry you had to go through that Martin, but we were only doing our jobs."  
"'Only doing our jobs'" he mimicked, venom seeping from every word. "I lost everything when you sent my brother to jail."  
"Martin, David raped and murdered a young woman. He broke the law, he had to be punished."  
"He was framed!"  
"The evidence was conclusive. Nothing pointed to another person being involved."  
"You need to pay for what you did to him! And for what losing him did to me!"

"Martin..." Brass began, but the rest of his sentence was cut off by an ear piercing scream from somewhere in the house. Both men jumped to their feet, Jim's hand instinctively going for his gun until a small gesture from Grissom stopped him, save they lose the only leverage they had by showing their captor he was still armed.  
The low rumble of a menacing laugh filled the silence following the scream.  
"Seems like they've found my little surprise."

The laptop screen flickered and grainy CCTV footage replaced the search results; Grissom quickly recognised it as one of the corridors upstairs but the images were hazy, as if being viewed through fog. His breath caught in his throat as Sara crawled into view, a gun in her hand and a grim expression on her face. Greg appeared next, crawling awkwardly while dragging a visibly upset Catherine. There were streaks of something on her arms and face but the black and white footage made it impossible to identify.  
Ice flooded Grissom's veins and his chest constricted as the realisation hit him - there were only three people on the screen.  
Jim asked the question before Gil could form the words, the captain obviously sharing his friend's thought process.  
"Where is Warrick?"

The footage faded, replaced by a picture. Grissom swallowed hard against a wave of nausea, while Jim's reaction was masked by a sharp intake of breath. Warrick's lifeless glassy eyes stared back from the screen, blood pooling around him from a gaping slash across his throat.  
"Never underestimate the element of surprise."  
"You bastard." Jim's jaw was clenched and he was fighting the urge to rip this whole house apart to find the murdering son of a bitch and feed him his gun.  
"Warrick had nothing to do with your brother's case," Grissom spoke up, sounding far calmer than he actually felt. "In fact, half the people here weren't even working in the lab at the time."

There were a long few moments of silence.  
"You raise a valid point Dr Grissom, but I had nothing to do with my brother's crime and it didn't stop you from ruining my life in the process of your investigation."  
"Then be better than me!" A hint of desperation tinged Grissom's voice as a plan began forming in his mind. "Let the innocent parties here go and keep me. I was the lead investigator, I took the stand and presented the case against your brother, I'm the guilty one here. Punish me."  
"Gil..." Jim began softly, but was cut off by a swift shake of the other man's head.

The lack of response was palbable, filling the room and making the soundless seconds drag on for days.  
"That's a very valiant offer Dr Grissom."

The next time Martin spoke his voice came not from the laptop but from the sound system speakers that covered the entire house, booming throughout each room.

"Sidle and Sanders, you both have precisely 60 seconds from the time I finish speaking to make your way downstairs and leave through the front door. If, once the 60 seconds are up either of you are still in the house, or anyone else tried to leave with you, I will detonate an IED I have hidden somewhere in the house and everyone will die."

"Wait!" Grissom interrupted. "I said punish **ME** , let everyone else go!"  
"So sorry Dr Grissom, Ms Willows and Captain Brass worked my brother's case with you. They stay."  
Grissom was about to protest again but was cut off.

"Sidle and Sanders, your 60 seconds start... NOW!"

Bit tense, and don't hate me too much lol! He was the easiest character to kill.

Hope ya'll enjoyed it, despite what I did to Warrick!

Lily  
-x-


	13. Chapter 13

Hey guys, here's the latest update from me. It's been slow but I'm getting there. Chapter fourteen was finished finally this afternoon and I've made a start on chapter fifteen. Apologies that these last few chapters haven't been very long, hopefully chapter fifteen will be longer. Hope ya'll are still enjoying it.

"Sidle and Sanders, you both have precisely 60 seconds from the time I finish speaking to make your way downstairs and leave through the front door..."

The three CSIs upstairs froze in their progress along the corridor as the voice boomed commands from the speaker above their heads.  
"What the hell..." Greg muttered, a stern 'shush' of reprimand quieting any further protests. At the word 'IED' the three friends exchanged alarmed looks; Sara shook her head as she read between the lines of the following admission - of course Grissom would try to save the rest of them at his own expense. She chanced a glance at Catherine; the blonde's expression was unreadable.

"Sidle and Sanders, your 60 seconds start... NOW!"

In an instant Catherine's whole demeanor changed. She set her jaw and pushed off from the wall, grabbing Greg's wrist and nudging Sara sharply ahead of her in the direction of the stairs.  
"Cath?"  
"You need to move. Now."  
As they rounded the corner and approached the staircase Greg dug his heels in, causing Catherine to grind to a halt and Sara to turn and see why she was no longer being nudged.  
"Cath we're not doing this."  
"Greg you need to move!"  
"We're not leaving you!"  
"THERE'S NO TIME!"

Both Sara and Greg were stunned by the intensity behind the older woman's words; she used their momentary distraction to her advantage and had ushered them to the bottom of the stairs before they quite realised what she was doing."  
"Catherine..."  
"30 seconds!"  
"You need to go. Now. If you stay we all die."  
Sara and Greg shared a look and started for the door, only making it a few steps beofre realising Catherine hadn't moved.  
"I'm staying here. Last thing we want is this bastard thinking I'm coming with you and blowing us all to hell." She smiled at them from the bottom step, her blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Her friends moved as one, rushing back towards her and enveloping her in a fierce embrace. A few tears escaped as she hugged them back.  
"We'll get you guys out of here, but you're going to need this," Sara whispered, sliding her gun between Catherine's and Greg's bodies before tucking it into the other woman's waistband, grateful that for once she'd worn a baggy t-shirt instead of the skin tight ones she usually did. With one last squeeze Greg and Sara released their friend and dashed toward the door, the former yanking it open. The brunette risked one last glance at Catherine before allowing herself to be pulled outside and letting the large door swing shut behind her with a click.

No sooner had it closed than a loud buzzer sounded, making Catherine jump out of her skin and release the sob she'd been trying to suppress.  
"Asshole," she muttered, swiping angrily as the few tears that had slid down her cheeks while trying to calm her racing heart. Taking a deep breath she descended the last step tentatively; she didn't trust this son of a bitch as far as she could throw him. She'd made it half way across the entrance hall, staying as far away from the front door as she could, when the voice rang from the speakers.  
"Ms Willows, if you'd be so kind as to join us in the den I'd be most grateful."  
"Screw you," she muttered but complied, heading down the hallway and entering the den.  
Both men turned as she walked through the door, pushing it shut behind her. Grissom's eyes locked with Catherine's as she moved further into the room, silent questions passing between them. She gave one short sharp nod of her head, confirmation that their friends had indeed made it out of the building. He visibly relaxed, but the feeling of relief was short lived as Martin's voice surrounded them once more.  
"Thank you for joining us Ms Willows. Now the real fun begins."

Greg and Sara ran down the long driveway away from the house, the former glancing over his shoulder as they moved while the brunette checked her phone every few feet, waiting for the moment they were out of range of the signal jammers. They finally stopped running as they passed under the brick archway where the gravel of the drive met the asphalt of the main road.  
"Anything?" Greg gestured to the cell phone in Sara's hand, breathing hard. The woman shook her head and bent at the knees, inhaling vast lung fulls of oxygen even though the chilled night air burned her windpipe on the way down.  
"How could we just leave them there?"  
"You heard what he said Sar. If we'd stayed he'd have blown the whole house to smithereens. At least this way we've all got a chance."  
She turned to face him and Greg swore he could see the cogs of her brain turning. "What is it?"

She straightened and looked back to the dark house before glancing down at her phone then finally meeting his gaze.  
"The bomb in the lab was detonated remotely using a cell phone." Greg nodded but stayed quiet as she continued. "With the siganl jammers he's set up to stop us calling for help, it means he won't be able to make the call to set off the bomb here. He'd have to detonate it manually."  
Her companion's eyes widened as realisation began to creep in.

"After Warrick... He didn't leave the house. He's still in there with them and they have no idea."  
Sara nodded grimly, barely registering the faint blue and red lights approaching in the distant darkness.

"It also means he has nothing left to lose. This is a suicide mission and he plans on taking Cath, Grissom and Brass with him."  
*********

Thanks for reading

Lily  
-x-


	14. Chapter 14

Hey guys, ya'll must be shocked at having two chapters posted without a massive gap inbetween haha! What can I say, I've been on a bit of a roll recently. I finished this chapter and ploughed straight into chapter fifteen, which is finished and waiting to be typed up. I've bene trying to make the next few chapters leading up to the end of this fic a bit longer. Anyway, enough from me, here's chapter fourteen.

Vartann knew he's broken God knows how many speed limits on his way to Sam's house but there wasn't one part of him that cared. He'd pulled off the highway and seen the other four patrol cars heading the same way, and the relief he'd felt had been palpable. As he'd made his way to the front of the line he'd signalled to each driver, silently asking that they follow his lead.  
Now, as the turned down the long winding road that lead to the property he was incredibly grateful for the bond he shared with his brothers and sister in blue; he killed his siren but kept his lights flashing, and each of the cars behind followed suit. They understood he wanted to retain the element of surprise for as long as he could. Around 600 meters from the driveway entrance he killed his headlights, knowing instinctively that the other officers were doing the same in their own vehicles. Lou slowed as he approached the stone archway, frowning at the two figures that came into view. He was out of the car before it had come to a complete stop, gun drawn by his side. One of them turned and he relaxed slightly, holstering his weapon for the time being.

"The cavalry's arrived." Greg's greeting was uncharacteristically flat. Sara ignored him and stepped toward Vartann, her body tense and her face grim.  
"Grissom, Brass and Catherine are still inside. Whoever's doing this announced over loud speaker that Greg and I had to leave within a minute or he'd blow the whole house. He's got a bomb, he must be able to manually detonate as he's got signal jammers round the entire perimeter. You might want to check your phone" Her expression changed suddenly; she blinked a few times and cleared her throat before continuing. "Warrick is dead. The son of a bitch slit his throat and left him in a room for us to find. He's watching the entire house, he's tapped into Sam's security cameras so he can see everything. We don't know who he is or what he wants, and now our friends are trapped at his mercy." Sara finished her update and turned away abruptly, stalking a few feet before fixing her gaze on the house before them.

Greg and Vartann exchanged glances, silently agreeing to leave her alone for as long as she needed. The latter extended his arm, squeezing the younger man's shoulder before turning and walking back to the assembled group of officers, intent on passing on this new information. Within a few minutes Vartann returned, gesturing to Greg to follow as he approached Sara. His eyebrow rose in surprise at the plume of smoke that escaped her lips on the exhale; a beat later he noticed the cigarette clenched between her fingers. He waited for her eyes to meet his, a silent acknowledgement before he spoke.  
"Vega is taking a group to scout the perimeter. They're sticking close to the road to hopefully avoid the security cameras. We're also trying to contact Sam. There's some information on the plans that are public but I'm sure he knows more about the house than what's there." He paused for a moment, preparing himself for the reactions he was about to elicit.

"Sophia is interrogating the mole as we speak. It's Judy."  
Both Sara and Greg gaped at him.  
"Judy?" Greg shook his head. "Small, mousey, works on reception, wouldn't say boo to a goose Judy?"  
"Who's know us all, worked alongside us all for years yet still helped this bastard orchestrate this?" Simmering heat filtered off Sara in waves as realisation after realisation washed over her. "She fed him the information about the safe house. Told him when to detonate the bomb in the garage. God damn it!"  
She lashed out, kicking hard at a rock and sending it skittering into the night.  
"She is the reason Nick is in the hospital and Warrick is lying dead in a room in that house!"

"The last I head from Sophia she wasn't saying much apart from the fact that he wants to kill the whole team. Which begs the question, why did he let you two go?"  
"Grissom," Greg spoke up. "We think he must've tried to reason with the guy and get him to release the rest of us while he stayed; just before the timer started this psycho said something about Catherine and Brass having to stay as they'd worked the case with Grissom."  
"That means whoever this guy is he's involved with a case from before the four of you worked at the lab." Vartann's brain was running on overdrive as it started piecing things together.  
"That's got to be hundreds of cases."  
Vartann had already started to move, so Greg had to raise his voice as he and Sara followed behind. The detective didn't stop until he reached his vehicle, pulling open the door and leaning inside. A few moments passed before he straightened, a satelite phone grasped in his hand.

"Archie gave me this before I left the lab." He flipped up the antenna before punching in a number and putting it to his ear. Sara and Greg exchanged a smile.  
"A sat phone won't be affected by the signal jammers. God I love that guy."  
Vartann rolled his eyes at the younger man while he waited for the call to connect.  
"Vartann? What do you need? Is everything ok?"  
"Woah. First off, good call on the phone, this guy has blocked all cell phone signals. Is there any way to access the case file database? I know it's a needle in a haystack but search for cases only Grissom, Catherine and Brass worked together before the others joined the team."  
"I'm on it. Let me know if you need anything else. I'll be in touch."

Archie rang off and Vartann shut down the phone.  
"What now? We can't just stand around doing nothing!" Sara ran a frustrated hand thought her hair, glancing back at the darkened house.  
"I want you to tell me everything you can about that place, where the others might be in the building, anything that could help us get in there. When Vega and his team get back we can combine everything we know and try to come up with a plan. We're going to get them out of there, no matter what it takes."

Hope ya'll liked it

Lily  
-x-


	15. Chapter 15

Hi guys. Cue the usual 'I've been slammed, work and life constantly get in the way, I've been so blocked with this it's unreal' excuses. Sorry, hopefully there's still someone out there reading this. I'm ashamed to say I've only got one page of chapter sixteen written, it's proved a real struggle to actually get out what I want to happen. I have a vague idea, I just need to translate that to actual words.  
Anyway, here's this chapter

An eerie silence had fallen over the den and its three occupants. Normally Grissom craved the quiet but the weight of this noiselessness felt oppressive. Coupled with the fact that Martin had been silent since his pronouncement of the fun they were going to have, had Grissom balancing on a knife edge.  
"Now what?"  
"I honestly have no idea Jim."  
"Well we can't just sit here, we need to find a way out!"

Grissom shook his head once, inclining it towards the laptop and the still illuminated web cam light.  
Brass made a sound of frustration low in his throat and stood, pacing around the room like a caged animal.  
Grissom sighed and turned his attention to Catherine. She hadn't spoken a word sinc entering the den and was currently wedged into the corner of the sofa with her legs tucked underneath her and her right arm wrapped around herself. He could see the dried tear tracks streaking her cheeks, as well as the reddish brown smears on her arms and across her pale t shirt. Warrick's blood. His heart broke for her.  
"Cath?" He called her name, loudly enough for her to hear but not so loud as to startle her. She barely blinked. "Catherine honey I need you to look at me." She raised her head and met his blue eyes with her own watery ones. "We're going to get out of here."  
"How? We've got no way to contact anyone outside, and if we step foot near a door or window this psycho will blow us all to hell. He's probably watching us as we speak."  
"She's got a point," Jim interjected, earning him a stern look from Grissom.

The strawberry blonde sighed and brushed some hair out of her face, her fingers dancing gently against the skin of her forehead. The movement caught Grissom's attention and he froze, an idea hitting him like a freight train.  
"Catherine?" He waited until her eyes were on him before testing his theory. He kept his mouth shut and let his hands speak for him, forming the signs fluidly and at a steady pace.  
 **Do you remember any of the sign language my mother taught you?**  
Her eyes widened slightly, one corner of her mouth quirking upwards as she clenched her right hand into a fist, raising it to shoulder level before rocking it back and forth.  
 **Yes.**  
Grissom smiled and began signing rapidly, his excitement making his hands fly at such a speed it made Catherine's head spin.  
"Gil!"  
He paused and watched as she raised her cast arm palm down and moved her right hand slowly from the tips of her fingers to the bend in her arm, then placed her palm on her chest and moved it in a clockwise circle a few times.  
 **Slow down please.**  
His expression became sheepish as he brought his closed fist to his chest, making a similar motion before starting his explanation again.  
 **Sorry. We can't talk openly because he can hear us, but even though he can see us I doubt he can understand enough sign language to figure out what we're saying. Anything we need to say that we don't want overheard, we use our hands ok?**  
Catherine returned his smile and copied his last sign.  
 **Ok.**

"I have no idea what you just said but I'm in," Brass mumbled loud enough for them both to hear.  
Grissom smiled.  
 **Great. Let's get started.**

Archie was beyond exhausted; he was pretty sure he'd lapsed into some semi catatonic state before Vartann called. Now as he hung up he ran his hands through his hair, willing his brain to function. Flexing his fingers he opened the case file database on his screen and began typing search parameters; all cases Grissom, Brass and Catherine had worked, excluding any other team members, starting the time frame from when Catherine began working in the lab and capping it at five years ago before hitting enter. A few minutes passed before the computer yielded its results, making the lab tech groan and drop his head to the desk in frustration.

638 cases. This wasn't a needle in a haystackm it was a specific needle in a stack of needles.  
"You look like you need this."  
Archie lifted his head and was greeted by the sight of Wendy entering his lab, tow mugs of coffee in her hands. She placed one in front of him before dropping into the spare chair at the desk.  
"Is there anything stronger?"  
The brunette chuckled as he took a grateful sip.  
"There's a rumour Brass keeps a bottle of scotch in his bottom desk drawer, we could go raid that?"  
"No time," Archie replied, gesturing to the screen. Wendy let out a low whistle as she scanned it.  
"That's a lot of cases."  
"And I have no idea where to start."

His colleague was silent for a moment.  
"Ugh this is hopeless!"  
The AV tech let his head drop to the desk with a dull thud. Wendy raised her hand and patted him gently on the back, still scanning the screen as her mind whirred.  
"Maybe start with some of the earliest cases and work from there?"  
Without lifting his head Archie tapped a few keys and the screen reloaded.  
"215." Wendy exhaled and her friend groaned.  
"That's still too many!"  
The silence that followed was broken by a ping from the machine in front of them.  
"What was that?"  
The brunette moved the mouse and clicked on the message bubble.  
"Automated email from HR, reminding you to inventory all electronic devices. ALS, phones, pagers, laptops..." She trailed off, almost feeling the lightbulb brushing the top of her head. "Archie, where's Grissom's laptop?"

His head snapped up at such a speed Wendy winced, certain he'd damaged a vertabrae or three. Their eyes locked.  
"He took it with him."  
"What if he had the same thought Vartann did; that this is all connected to a previous case? He could've access the database using his computer. Can you access it remotely?"  
Archie pulled himself closer to the desk and began typing furiously.  
"Usually only with cooperation from the operator but that can be bypassed. Let's hope he's left it switched on."  
The staccato click of the keys sounded like machine gun fire in the quiet room.  
"Access the IP address... bypass the firewalls, good thing I set them up," Archie mumbled under his breath as he worked, something Wendy would've found endearing in any other circumstance.  
"Almost there... little more... wrap what I'm doing in the invisibility cloak..."  
"Invisibility cloak? Who are you, Harry Potter?"  
The lab tech shot her a look.  
"I use it when I need to install updates on a computer while it's still being used. Means I can do what I need to do without it showing on the screen; we don't know what's going on in that house, the last thing we need is for the computer to come to life and tip our hand. And I'm in!"

The black and white screen he'd been working on disappeared and revealed another search screen.  
"David Palmer." Archie read the name aloud, clicking on the file to open the rest of the information, scanning through it.  
"Rape and murder, nasty." A groan followed as he scrolled to the end of the file. "One small problem, he's still in jail. Another dead end."  
Wendy made a concilliatory noise while scrutinising the screen.  
"Grissom must've been looking at this for a reason though." Moving the cursor she flicked through the rest of the file. "Archie... He has a brother. Martin Palmer.  
"You think this is our guy?"  
"Why else would the last thing Grissom accessed be this case file? It's got to be him!"  
"I'm going to let Sofia know. She might be able to use it in the interrogation."  
He pulled out his cell phone and started typing.  
Wendy returned her attention to the computer, frowning as she noticed the small box in the bottom right hand corner; she'd been so focussed on the file that it had managed to escape her previous scrutiny. She moved the mouse, hovering the cursor over it before clicking, the dark image filling the screen. She leaned in for a closer look, her eyes widening as she realised exactly what she was seeing.

"Archie..."  
"One sec..."  
"Now Archie!"  
Her colleague turned back to the desk, his own eyes taking in the darkened room, the figure visible on the couch.  
"That looks like... is that Catherine?"  
"Why is the webcam on?"  
Archie turned to a separate monitor and keyboard on the desk, enabling him to work while still keeping the feed open.  
Wendy kept watching the original screen, concern and fear for her colleagues, her friends, consuming her. Catherine's attention was fixed on something off screen, every now and then she would move her arms in some pattern that was foreign to the brunette observing. The blonde looked tense but otherwise unharmed, something Wendy was grateful for. A figure pased behind the couch Catherine was seated on; even with the poor quality stream she could tell it was Brass, pacing back and forward. From the angle Wendy guessed the computer was on a coffee table. She just wished they had a visual on more of the room; there was no doubt for her now that this feed was live.

"Someone hacked Grissom's computer before I did."  
"What?" Wendy replied, startled. She'd been so engrossed in the screen she'd forgotten Archie was even there. The latter gestured to his monitor, but all his friend could see was a jumble of words and key stroke actions.  
"A different IP address to mine remotely accessed Grissom's laptop a couple of hours ago." He hit a few more keys, bringing up a floor plan of the house and grounds. "The IP address pinged as being located on Sam Braun's land. I need to call Vartann."

Movement from the safehouse feed prevented Wendy from replying. Her heart leapt into her throat as the door in the background opened and shut, a meanacing figure creeping closer, the unmistakable shape of a gun glinting in its hand.  
"Archie..."  
He glanced at her, the sat phone already at his ear.  
"He's in the room with them."

Hopefully the fact this chapter is quite a long one will make up for the eons between updates.  
Thanks  
Lily  
-x-


	16. Chapter Sixteen

Hi guys, you'll be pleased to know that thanks to my friend AshleySusan visiting I've managed to break through my writer's block! I've got chapter 17 finished in my notebook and I'm pretty confident chapter 18 will be finished soon. I think there will probably be one more chapter after that. Thank you to everyone who's still reading this, sorry I haven't exactly been the most consistent with my updates. Anyway, back to the story!

This was it. Everything had been building to this moment. The years he'd spent alone in dark rooms, working and honing his skills. The months he'd spent building trust and rewriting the plan, mentally playing out every possible scenario until it was damn near perfect. The weeks of final preparations, including the moment he pressed play and it had all begun. The last few days, watching their every move like ants in a colony, waiting for the moment he would bring down his boot and crush them all beneath it

Nothing but silence greeted him as he twisted the handle and eased the door open, entering the den as a ghost. His pulse jumped slightly, adrenaline flooding his veins now he was finally in the same room as the three people who had ruined his life. Four strides and he would be behind Dr Grissom, close enough to put the muzzle of his gun to the back of the other man's head and splatter his brains across the room. So easy, it would be over before anyone saw it coming.

But where was the fun in that?

One more step and he cleared his throat, delighting in the way their three heads snapped in his direction. Captain Brass' right hand flexed at his waist, instinctively wanting to reach for his gun; the other two just sprang to their feet.

"I wouldn't if I were you," Martin addressed the former, unzipping his jacket to unveil his coup de gras - an explosive vest strapped to his chest.

"This contains more than enough TNT to blow us all of the face of the earth." He held up his left hand. "I flip this switch and it's goodnight Vienna." He could see the cogs whirring in all three heads so he waited a few moments before adding his final piece of information.

"And just incase Captain Brass decides to shoot me anyway, I've modified a fire fighter's PASS device. If it doesn't detect any movement from me for 30 seconds, the bomb will detonate automatically. So whatever happens, the four of us will be dying tonight."

"Ok Archie, I've connected my ear piece to the sat phone so I can keep you guys on the line. I want to know everything that's happening in that room."

Sara and Greg exchanged looks as Vartann approached and they caught the tail end of his conversation. He fiddled with his ear piece and placed the sat phone in his jacket pocket before turning to them.

"Archie accessed Grissom's laptop, the guy behind all this is Martin Palmer. His brother was sent to prison for rape and murder, Grissom, Catherine and Brass all worked the case."

"So we know who he is, now what? We're still no closer to getting them out!" Greg remarked in frustration.

"Archie and Wendy are monitoring what they assume is a a live feed from the laptop's webcam, we've got eyes in there now..."

Vartann trailed off, pressing the ear piece further into his ear. "You're sure?... Shit... Keep me posted."

"What now?" Sara didn't like the look on Vartann's face.

"Palmer's in the room with them, and from the looks of things he's wearing an explosive vest."

"We need to get in there!" Sara and Greg exclaimed simultaneously.

"We're not storming in there and running the risk of him detonating that vest. The only good thing about him being in there with them is that he's no longer monitoring the security cameras. My guys with Vega are surrounding the perimeter, they've found and disabled all but one of the signal jammers; we don't want any cell phones going off in there and blowing our advantage. I want everyone out of there alive, I'm not letting this scumbag miss out on the needle by blowing himself up."

" This is torture!" Wendy exclaimed, eyes never leaving the screen while trying to ignore the incessant clacking of Archie's keyboard." What are you doing?"

"Trying to hack Sam's security system, I want to give Vartann eyes on the rest of the house, see if we can get them inside unnoticed."

"I feel so useless." The brunette's heart lurched as Palmer raised the arm not holding the gun; she could just make out what looked like a detonator in it. "I wish we knew what they were saying..."

On a whim she grasped the mouse, moving the cursor to select the audio settings. Hovering over the microphone icon she hesitated momentarily before clicking on it. There were a few painful seconds of silence before Grissom's familiar voice echoed through the lab, halting Archie's fingers as it drew his attention.

"... The last thing we want is anyone else dying."

"Great job Wendy!" He pressed a button on his ear piece. "Vartann, we've got audio in the room now, we'll pass along anything relevant."

"No Dr Grissom, the last thing **you** want is anyone else dying."

"Who died?" The two lab rats questioned simultaneously. Archie disconnected the ear piece, placing the sat phone in loud speaker and allowing Vartann's voice to filter through to the whole room.

"... Warrick."

"Shit."

Wendy stayed silent, focusing back that the screen; processing that could wait until everyone else was safe.

Archie lowered his head and resumed typing, his speed now reduced significantly.

"I know it's a body blow guys, but we need you. Grissom, Catherine and Brass need you; you're our eyes and ears in that house and our best chance at getting them all out alive."

"You'd be a pretty good motivational speaker if this whole cop thing doesn't pan out Vartann." A ghost of a smile flitted across Wendy's face at the chuckle her comment elicited.

"I do what I can. I'm handing you over to Sara, I've got to radio Vega a loop him in."

There was silence before Sara's voice came in the line.

"You're doing great. What's happening in there now?"

"I'm into the security system, checking on the rest of the house. It looks quiet."

"Well his accomplis is in custody and there's nothing to suggest he's working with anyone else... Can you check the external doors? When we were released he said the house would blow if Cath tried to follow us. Maybe there's a motion sensor that would've activated it?"

" On it." Archie meticulously swept his gaze over every inch of the main door, enlarging the image everytime he moved to allow for a closer inspection.

"I don't see any evidence of sensors, a trip wire or bomb on the main door. Now that I'm in the main security system I'll check the rest." The lab tech went quiet as he jumped from room to room, repeating the process from the first door.

"All clear, just the patio doors in the den now."

With a click of his mouse a similar image as the one Wendy was studying filled the computer and main AV screen. This angle allowed them to see the entire room. Palmer was still between the three CSIs and the door, Catherine closest to the couch, Grissom and Brass had moved so they were flanking her but slightly in front of the red head.

"I don't like the look of this," Archie mumbled and Wendy nodded as the AV tech channelled the audio from the laptop through the main speakers in the room

Hope you guys enjoy the update.

Lily

-x-


	17. Chapter 17

Hey guys, I know how shocked ya'll must be having a second update so soon after the last one but here we are! Thanks for the reviews, this chapter is a little short but I'll be making up for that with chapter eighteen, which is nearly finished and ready to type up.  
Enjoy!  
#######

"Now it's time to have that fun I mentioned earlier." He raised his hand that held the gun and used it to beckon at the group. "Ms Willows, if you'd be so kind as to join me?"  
"Go to hell," Grissom snarled, extending his arm to push the woman in question slightly behind him; from the corner of his eye he could see Brass shift closer too, his jaw set.  
A meanacing smirk spread across Palmer's face.  
"I figured there would be some resistance to this part of the plan Dr Grissom, especially after I heard your little confession to Captain Brass." He paused, delighting in the way the colour drained from Grissom's face. "I need to thank you though, that little nugget of information means I know exactly where to hit you to cause you maximum suffering."

Gil swallowed and chanced a glance at Catherine. She met his gaze, placed a hand on his arm and began to move past him.  
"Catherine stop!"  
"You can't do this!"  
Both Brass and Grissom began to vehemently protest; the latter fell silent as he felt her finger trace four letters against the skin of his forearm - P.L.A.N.  
"It's ok," she whispered, squeezing him gently before crossing the room with palms raised, the international symbol of compliance.

"What the hell is she doing?" Brass muttered.  
Grissom shook his head but stayed silent, his heart in his throat as he watched her progress towards Palmer, who was still smirking. It took every ounce of self control Grissom had not to fly at him when he lunged at Catherine, grabbing her cast and yanking her the last remaining foot, spinning her and pulling her roughly so her back collided with his chest. In the next instant his arm was across her shoulders and the barrel of the gun was pressed against her temple; the red head winced as the cold metal hit her skin hard enough to bruise.

There were a few moments of silence before Catherine spoke, her breathing ragged.  
"Ok Martin, you've got me where you want me. Now what?"  
She felt his chuckle reverberate through her as he trailed the gun down the side of her face and neck before sliding the tip of it into the top of her t-shirt and pulling it away from her body.  
"Believe me, this isn't the exact position I'd like you in but I don't mind improvising."  
"I remember thinking how polite you were when I interviewed you Martin, there's no need to be crude now."  
She felt him tense and risked a glance at Grissom and Brass; in the short time she'd been speaking and holding his attention they'd managed to creep forward without being noticed by their captor. She also knew that she needed to execute her plan soon; Grissom looked as though he was going to have an aneurysm any minute.

Martin's voice broke through her thoughts, holding a far away note as though he were speaking through a memory.  
"You were kind to me. You got me a drink and something to eat, you didn't shout at me like every other cop that dealt with me." He loosened the arm he had across her slightly, the movement causing something on his wrist to catch her eye; she could almost feel the light bulb spark to life in her brain.  
"You were innocent Martin. You hadn't done anything wrong. I wasn't about to treat you like a criminal."  
"You were the only person other than David who was nice to me, why are you still being nice to me? After everything I've done, to you and your friends."

There was a pause. In that instant Catherine knew she was losing him. She caught Brass' eye as he right hand moved to her waist band, sending up a silent prayer that he'd know what to do.

"You're trying to trick..."

Three gun shots cut off Martin's outburst. Milliseconds later three bodies hit the floor.

######

Yes yes I'm evil I know!  
Lily  
-x-


	18. Chapter 18

Hey guys. Here's chapter eighteen for you. It's the last chapter I've got written in my notebook and I go on holiday on Saturday so I wanted to get it typed up and posted before I go. I will be taking my notebook with me so hopefully I'll get some writing done while I'm away. Anyway, enjoy

Archie couldn't believe what he'd just seen. Wendy's scream as the bodies had fallen - which still reverberated round the room - had been loud enough to draw the attention of Hodges, Bobby and Jaqui; they were all now crowded behind Archie's chair and firing questions at him a mile a minute. He rubbed his temples, trying to drown them out when Sara's voice crackled through the sat phone, barely audible over the din.

"Quiet!" He yelled, shutting them all up and jolting Wendy from her almost catatonic state. "Sara?"  
"Archie! What the hell happened? We've heard gunshots."  
"I... I don't know. It was really tense, Palmer had Catherine... There were shots, three bodies on the floor..."  
"Oh my god... Hang on Archie..."  
He could hear muffled talking, the crackle of the radio. His eyes strayed to the screen and the lone figure as it moved to the first body that had fallen near the couch.

"Archie, Vartann and Vega are ready to breach, they need to know which doors are safe and who's left standing."  
As she spoke Archie focussed on the other monitor, zooming in on the patio doors. He exhaled loudly as he swept over it, beyond thankful to notice the absence of any trip wires.  
"All doors are clear." He returned his attention to the rest of the room, noting the way the person moves as they approached what looked like the two other bodies, one lying on top of the other.  
"It's Brass!"  
"Can you confirm that Archie?"

The lab tech swallowed, relief tinged with apprehension as he turned to his colleagues. They all seemed to understand his unspoken question as they wordlessly surveyed the screen. All four nodded in succession before Archie sent his response down the line.  
"Captain Brass is the only one mobile."  
There was a pause, presumably so Sara could relay the information over the radio to Vartann.  
Then all hell broke loose on the screens.

Three shots. Brass knew he'd only fired one. The minute Catherine had made eye contact and pulled a gun from the waistband of her shorts he'd dropped to a crouch, retrieved his gun, taken aim and fired. Now, as he slowly raised himself to standing and peered through the gun smoke he felt his heart plummet at the sight of three bodies.  
Instinct drove him to the closest.  
Crouching down beside Grissom he took in his closed eyes, the blood pouring from a wound on the left side of his forehead. Brass reached out and trailed his fingers along Grissom's neck, searching desperately for a pulse.

"Come on Gil, don't do this to me now."  
He moved to the opposite side of his neck, exhaling loudly as he felt the soft but steady throb against the pads of his fingers. He pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, wrapping it round Grissom's head and securing it with a knot on the opposite side to the injury.  
Rising to his feet he pulled his gun once more and held it by his side as he approached the spot where Palmer and Catherine had fallen. He could barely see the latter under the bulk of their captor, just a leg and a small mass of strawberry blonde hair were the only indications she was even there.  
Brass winced as he moved closer, his eyes landing on the large pool of blood that was still spreading across the floor. He kicked Palmer's leg with his foot and, receiving no response he knelt down and was just about to start heaving the body off his friend when all hell broke loose.

Vartann and four officers burst through the patio doors, at the same time as Vega and another four officers crashed through the main door of the den.  
"Brass!"  
Vartann was at his side in an instant, holstering his weapon and kneeling down, narrowly avoiding the ever growing blood pool.  
"Grissom's been shot in the head, pulse is thready and he's unconcious. Catherine's under Palmer. Help me lift this hump off her but be careful, he's still got the explosive vest on."

Gingerly the two men rolled the third over onto his back, noting his glassy eyes and the hole in his forehead as well as the one through his left wrist. There was no sign of life from either him or the bomb strapped to his chest. Vartann slid the body away, motioning to Kip, a bomb tech that had been part of Vega's breach team. The young officer moved swiftly over and got to work making sure the bomb was safe.

Brass meanwhile was completely focussed on Catherine. He carefully slid his arms under her and rolled her so she was face up on his lap. She was caked in blood but neither Brass nor Vartann could ascertain where it was coming from. Her eyes were closed and there were gunpowder burns on her arm, face and neck.  
Vartann placed his fingers to her neck, carefully avoiding the injured skin before meeting the other man's worried gaze with a smile.  
"Pulse is good and strong, I think all that blood is Palmer's."  
Brass sagged back onto his haunches in relief and brushed some of the blood matted hair away from her face.

"Let's get out of here." Vartann lifted Catherine's prone body from his colleague and stood, allowing the other man to get to his feet. "How's Grissom?"  
"Stable enough to move," Vega called from the other side of the room where he and two officers had fashioned a make shift stretcher from a table and belts.  
"Great. How's the vest coming Kip?"  
"Not far off Lou. You guys head on out, get Grissom and Willows to the hospital. I won't be far behind you."  
"I'll stay with him." Vega moved from his position with Grissom, gesturing for another officer to take his place. Vartann nodded, shifted Catherine's weight slightly in his arms and made his way out of the room behind two officers clearing the way and the three carrying Grissom. Brass and the final two police men brought up the rear.

As they crossed the entrance hall and the two lead officers opened both sides of the main door Vartann still couldn't allow himself to relax. He juggled the still unconscious Catherine in his arms a little, pressing the button on his radio and hearing the static crackle in his ear piece as it came to life.

"Sara? You copy?"  
A few beats passed before she responded.  
"We're here Vartann. What's your status?"  
"Palmer's down, we're coming out. Make sure the paramedics are ready for us, Grissom and Catherine are injured."  
"They're waiting." There was a pause before Sara spoke again. "How bad are they?"  
The detective exhaled into the cool night air, throwing a glance over his shoulder as Brass exited the house behind him.  
"Both unconscious. We need to get them to the hospital as..."

The rest of Vartann's sentance died on his lips as Kipp's strained voice came over all radios.

"Bomb is active! I repeat, bomb is active! Clear the area..."

The explosion that followed sent a fireball rolling from the side of the house. Flames rose up and out, tongues and fingers that licked and clawed at the inky black sheet of sky above.

Hope ya'll liked it  
Lily  
-x-


End file.
